Elua Minuke
by three miles away
Summary: When the hunt for a gun for hire takes a turn no one saw coming, Hawaii's finest will be tested as they search for the man before he can kill one of their own. Steve!Whump. Danny!Whump. General Team!Whump. Chapter 18 Now Up!
1. Chapter 1

**My first Hawaii Five-0 story. Hope you like it. ****The title in English is "Two Minutes", but I googled the words in Hawaiian. If it is wrong, please let me know and I'll just title it in English.**  


**Disclaimer: I don't own Hawaii five-0.**

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Chapter 1

"All right, everybody! Listen up because I'm only going to say this once!" Commander Steve McGarrett said loud enough for the small group of Hawaii's best to hear. "Ron Hawkes is a known gun for hire who is an expert marksman and bomb maker. Recently he took up kidnapping."

"This woman, Taylor Cardoza, was last seen leaving her job at a diner in Oahu Sunday night." Detective Danny Williams took over, sending everyone a photograph from his phone. "Witnesses place Hawkes there as well, and a picture we received this morning at HPD confirms that he has her. We're on a clock, people. He gave us two hours to find her in this renovated hotel from the time we opened the package so lets not wast anymore time and get this woman out safely."

Chin came up behind the group hold a set of blueprints. "Now this hotel is three stories, not including the basement, but there are still just over three hundred rooms-any of which he could've put our victim."

Steve took a glance at the plans. "Kono, take the third floor, East side of the building and sweep inwards. Chin, take the North side, same floor, and do the same. Danny and I will cover the second. Duke and three others sweep the main floor while evacuating any remaining people; employes, guests, everyone. Have the manager do a head count of everybody and get back to me.

"We don't know if he has a bomb planted here or not; given that we're on a literal clock, we're sending in as few people as possible. The Bomb Squad is en route now. We've got less than ninety minutes. Move out."

The teams moved out to their assigned areas. Steve and Danny took the stairs to the second floor, weapons held underneath the flashlights in their steady hands.

Discarded ladders and tools lay in the floor of what was becoming one of the new additions to the hotel. Danny was on his partners left, quickly scanning each room he passed. The mental ticking clock in his head aided in his efforts as he pushed himself to look faster. He didn't know if the woman was trapped in a room with limited oxygen, strapped near a gun that would go off if they tripped something or simply tied up in a room perfectly fine. Well, as 'fine' as she could be considering.

"Chin and Kono didn't find her on the third floor." Steve's voice broke the detectives train of thought. "Duke just finished the main area and the basement with the same results. She's gotta be up here some where."

The two pressed on. Steve came up on a larger room than what they had passed and entered slowly, watching his step along the way.

"This must be one of the higher end rooms. Like a presidential suite, or something." Danny observed aloud. He checked a half built closet and sighed when he found nothing. "Steve, I've got nothing." His statement was answered with silence, which is not something he liked. "Steven?"

Going to where he saw Steve headed, Danny slowly brought his weapon up higher only to put it down when he saw the commander staring at what was going to be a shower. "What are you looking at?"

"Somethings not right," Steve holstered his weapon and stepped inside. "This is a joint shower with a bathtub. Why would there be a wooden door when all of the doors in this room are already installed?"

"I don't know. It could belong to another room."

"No. No, this stands out too much to belong in a different room. There isn't a doorknob and the edges are too ragged. The stain is different, too."

Danny stepped inside the shower combo as well and took a look around using his flashlight to aid him. "Hold on," kneeling down the detective spotted a streak streak of blood.

"What've you got?" Steve asked.

"Blood. Help me with this," the two men lifted the heavy door off of the tub and placed in against the wall. Inside, they found Taylor Cardoza unconscious in a pool of blood that was slowly growing.

Steve quickly reached down to look for a pulse while Danny called in that they had found her. Sighing, the SEAL said. "Her pulse is there, but weak. It looks like a head or neck wound, but I can't tell for sure."

"Kono said the medics are on stand-by. I told them not to risk coming in here."

Steve was about to get the woman out of the tub so they could go, but his phone ringing stopped him. Seeing the caller ID as 'Blocked', he wasted no time answering.

"McGarrett,"

_"Commander McGarrett, it's a pleasure to finally talk to you."_ a raspy voice said.

'Its Hawkes.' Steve mouthed to Danny who pulled out his own cell to order a trace on the call. "What do you want, Hawkes?"

_"I just thought I'd let you know that I left 5-0 a gift."_ said the man._ "You have less than sixty seconds before my latest model detonates."_

Steve quickly glanced at his watch. "What are you talking about? By the clock you gave us we still have forty-seven minutes; that's plenty to disarm it."

_"Hm. I lied."_ the line went dead.

"The call wasn't long enough. They couldn't-"

"We have to go." Steve cut off the Jersey native as he carefully picked up Taylor Cardoza. "Hawkes planted a bomb here."

"What? What happened to the clock?"

"He lied. He couldn't have known how long it would take us to find her; he had to have set the timer remotely."

The two men exited the room and made their way to the stairs. Danny got Chin on the phone to warn him about the bomb so he could make sure everyone was safely out of the way. "Hawkes has a bomb in the building! Get everyone back!"

_"The Bomb Squad just got here. The clock reads forty-four minutes, we can send them in after you-"_

Danny cut Chin off. "No, Chin, the clock means nothing! Hawkes lied, that bastard must've activated it remotely! Steve said we only have-"

Danny had just reached the stairwell door when everything went south. A loud rumbling sounded and the walls shook violently causing him to lose his balance. Dropping his phone and gripping the wall to his left, Danny called out to Steve who was behind him with the victim. The last thing he saw in helpless horror, was watching Steve and Taylor disappeared through the floor before everything went black.

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	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you all for the kind reviews. And to the people who are following/faved as well. I won't keep you waiting any longer.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own H50.**

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Chapter 2

_"Hawkes has a bomb in the building! Get everyone back!"_

"The Bomb Squad just got here. The clock reads forty-four minutes, we can send them after you-"

As Chin relayed Danny's warning to Kono and Duke who ordered everyone to back away from the building he was cut off by the panicking Jersey native._ "No, Chin, the clock means nothing! Hawkes lied, that bastard must've activated it remotely! Steve said we only have-"_

The ground shook as a rumbling came from the hotel. Chin took cover with Kono behind a cruiser with a few other HPD officers as glass shot out from the windows. His ears rung as the dirt and derbies clouded the area.

While seconds only passed, Chin couldn't think that all was lost just going by the sound the bomb made. Waiting for the air to clear before he took in the sight, Chin took the time to check on his cousin.

"You okay cuz?" he asked with worry in his voice.

After coughing to empty dust from her mouth, Kono replied with an affirmative. The two then went and checked on everyone else before discussing their next move.

Kono couldn't hold back a gasp as she got closer to the hotel. The bomb blast destroyed almost all of the windows but building was still standing save for the East side where she herself had done her search as it was merely a pile of bricks. "Do you know where Steve and Danny were? Or if they had found our victim?" she asked Chin.

"No and I'm not for sure, but Danny mentioned about starting on the West end together and working inwards." Chin wiped his face. "I lost contact with him just before the explosion."

"How long until we can get search and rescue here?"

"I don't know. Duke was calling them." when Chin finished saying that he noticed a certain look in Kono's eyes. "Kono," he warned.

"I'm going to go look for them."

"It's too risky. The building it too unstable, if we move the wrong piece it could make things worse." said Chin.

"To hell with risk! They could be injured!"

"And if we go over there now and cause it to come down on them, or us, it'll be worse than injured."

"But-"

"Kono, listen," Chin placed a gentle hand on his cousin's shoulder and the other caught a stray tear. "I'm worried about them, too. But we're needed out here, doing our jobs to catch the SOB who did this. We can only hope that they're found in time."

At Kono's nod, Chin sent her over to a group of hotel guests to take their statements once she had gotten herself together. He needed her to be strong in this because if they only found bodies in the mess he'd need someone to hold him back.

* * *

Breathing hurt.

The pounding in his body hurt.

Hell, thinking hurt.

But if he was in this much pain that could only mean that he wasn't dead. Yet. So, against ever wish his body made to lie there and move as little as humanly possible, Danny Williams slowly opened his eyes.

It was dark and the air was thick with dust and who knows what else. Coughing was an easy confirmation to where most of his pain was coming from and why it hurt to breathe. A quick guess was a few fractured ribs, or worse broken. But Danny couldn't think about his pain right now. He had to find a way to get out.

Blinking a couple of times to clear his hazy vision, the detective took in his physical situation by first flexing his hands. He then raised his arms as much as he could and carefully felt his torso for any signs of... well, anything that shouldn't be there. After only finding a small wet area that was probably blood on his shoulder, Danny thought for a moment of how he was going to check his legs.

Leaning down was out of the question as he was afraid of blacking out from the movement on his ribs so that left trying to move them.

First he focused on his right leg; he wanted to yell out in happiness as he felt his toes and then his whole leg move but there wasn't time. Moving to his left leg he repeated the same process. Though it took longer than he would've liked the movement of his entire left leg was good enough for him move on to the next step in his Get Out Alive plan.

Finding out where he was.

A small ray of light was beaming down through a crack of rubble slightly to his left but it wasn't enough for him to get a good look around. Sighing, Danny laid back down. The air seemed to be getting thicker which couldn't have been a good thing. He searched around with his hands for anything that could be useful until he found what felt like his phone. Sure enough the cell he dropped while warning Chin about the impending disaster was there with very little damage.

Turning on the device he shown the LED light around his the area that held him captive. He was near the stairs, the one wall no longer standing. Danny could tell that the wall was holding up the other which is why he wasn't completely covered in derbies. Less than ten feet away lay wood splinters from the hallway where he was only moments before. He wasn't able to see any farther than that as the ceiling had collapsed.

Wanting to make up as much ground as he could, Danny got up into a sitting position. After steadying his breathing he used a overturned trashcan to help get to his feet. He slipped as a sharp pain course through his left wrist but didn't let it stop him. Since it didn't give out completely, Danny figure it was just badly sprained.

_Time to get help._

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It happened too fast for even him to react, but when it did, the hold he had on Taylor Cardoza grew tighter as they fell through the disappearing floor. Steve waited for the impact to come; the pain that would surely fill his body as he came in contact with the ground but it never did. Instead, he found himself submerged in water with debris raining down around him. He hadn't taken a breath but he told himself not to panic.

With his SEAL instincts taking over, he first made sure that Taylor was still in his arms. Once that was confirmed, he kicked through the water as best he could, carefully dodging pieces of flooring with ragged edges.

Finally he made it to the edge of the pool. But after glancing around best he could see-and feel-Steve figured that he was in the deep end and that a large piece of ceiling was covering their only way out.

They were trapped.

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**I know the part with Steve is short but I wanted to show that Danny isn't getting off easy in this story. ;p**

**Review?**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank so the reviews, favorites and follows! Here is the next chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Hawaii Five-0. I just like using the characters.**

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Chapter 3

Ron Hawkes looked on with intent eyes through a pair of military grade binoculars at the buzzing scene across the street. The thin line on his face worked into a small smile as he saw the grim looks on the faces of the officers working below; most notably the remaining members of Five-0.

The two cousins were busy taking statements from the hotel guests and staff, trying to get any information they could. He noticed Search and Rescue had arrived rather quickly and extra uniforms were brought in to aid in the little things that needed to be done.

Hearing the door open behind him then click shut, Hawkes commented without looking away, "Are things still on schedule?"

"Of course." a female voice said with confidence. "You needn't worry so much, H. It's not good for you."

Hawkes scoffed and peered over his shoulder. "I'd rather not rely on unproven people to do jobs on such a scale as this. It is far too important to me."

"I know it is, babe. But at least let me help with some of the work." the woman pleaded.

"No. Not yet." Ron went back to casing the crime scene when he remembered what had troubled him earlier. "Melissa, care to tell me why the bomb didn't go off in the area we had planned?"

"JT told me to move it not long before the cops showed up. He said you gave him the green light to move it closer to that bitch Cardoza. You know how much he hates her."

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Hawkes sighed. That JT was going to be the death of this mission and maybe himself if he didn't take care of him soon. But he couldn't make a move on his pawn. Not when there was still a lot to do. Truth is he wasn't upset since the plan wasn't to completely level the hotel. He was pissed that the lower man went against his orders but put his anger aside for the time being.

He take care of JT when the time was right.

"I'm changing a few things around, Mel." Ron said standing to his feet. "Go back down and try to get any information about their progress. When you have word on if McGarrett is alive move onto Plan B."

Melissa giggled as she placed her arms around her lovers neck. "But be careful. We cannot let anything go wrong."

"I got you covered," she said in a low voice before kissing him softly on his lips. Melissa was gone in a flash and Hawkes went to do his own part. Gathering his things into a bag, the man stepped over the bloody body of the office owner and headed for his next destination leaving the door open as he left.

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The heat from sun above was slowly vanishing behind a few clouds as Kono worked to gather herself. She was shaken up from the blast but she knew she still had a job to do. People were counting on her to do it and do it well.

Taking out a notepad and pen Kono walked over to a middle-aged couple who were standing off to the side, watching the devastation unfold.

"Hi, I'm Officer Kalakaua with Five-0. I need you to tell me anything you might've seen leading up to when we had the hotel evacuated."

The man spoke up first, introducing himself as John. "Me and my wife were just heading back to our room when an officer told we had to leave right then. I tried to ask what was going on."

"Did you notice anything odd this morning? Maybe at breakfast or just in the lobby?"

John was silent for a second then shook his head. "I'm sorry. I didn't see anything."

Kono nodded then looked at the woman. "Ma'am?"

"I, uh, no I didn't see anything either. Everything was normal, you know?"

"Okay, thank you for your time. If you remember anything at all just find an officer and they'll help you." Kono said goodbye and went on to the next person. She kept this up for a solid twenty minutes before finding Chin who was working with the person in charge of Search and Rescue.

"Did you find out anything, Cuz?"

"Nothing. You would think that someone had to have seen something that stood but no one is talking." Kono sighed and brushed a strand on hair out of her eyes. "I'm starting to think that a blind person would've seen something."

"Hey, don't give up." said Chin. He knew that it was hard to stand by not looking for their friends. He had to find a way to keep her focused.

"Have they found anything yet?" Kono's voice broke Chin's train of thought.

"Not yet. But Hastings, he's in charge, is sending in a group soon; we'll be able to watch from the truck and when they give the 'OK' we'll help."

An officer came up behind them with bottled water and fruit bars in hand. Chin and Kono said their thanks before taking the offered items. They didn't know how long it would take, but knew that they needed to keep their strength up.

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Steve didn't know how long he had been treading water. He was unable to use the wall of the pool as an aid since it was blocked and his arms were alternating between keeping Taylor Cardoza's head above water while around him was a mixture of blood, dirt and plaster causing it to become a cloudy liquid.

A few more minutes passed before the woman began to stir, mumblings something.

"Ms. Cardoza?" No answer. "Taylor, I need you to answer me."

"Wha 'appened?" came a reply in a low voice.

"You were involved in an explosion." Steve said. He didn't want to give her the full story until after he checked her for any other injuries. "What do you remember?"

"I-I'm c-cold."

Steve adjusted her in his arms as carefully as he could so her could get a better look. He noticed earlier that a small stream of blood was coming from the back of her head and cuts were on her arms. "Taylor? What hurts?"

"I'm s-sorry, Jesse. I won't tell on you again. I promise, p-please don't lock me up. I'll be good." Taylor was mumbling things like that over and over so Steve took a few notes. Maybe he could build a profile on 'Jesse' that could help the case. At least that would keep his mind busy.

When Taylor came to again, she was more coherent. Lifting her head slowly, she looked around before a panicked feeling overcame her.

"Ms. Cardoza, you're safe. It's okay, I've got you."

"Where am I?" Steve gave her the run down before asking her questions that could help catch Ron Hawkes.

"What's the last thing you remember?"

Taylor thought for a minute before answering. "I was leaving work when I was knocked over my head. I think I woke up in Jesse's car-it smelled like him-but I blacked out again. My head hurts."

"Who's Jesse?"

"My boyfriend. He's-" Taylor was cut off by the sound of the fallen ceiling shifting underneath the weight of debris and metal that was above them. Steve watched and listened but it was again quite. He figured that it wouldn't hold much longer so he had to find a way out before it came down on top of them either crushing or drowning them in the process.

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**No Danno in this chapter. You'll see what he's up in in the next one.**

**Review? I love reading them. Plus they motivate me to write and post faster. Suggestions? I'd love to hear what you'd like to see in this story.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry for the wait, RL prevented me from writing as much as I wanted. Thanks for the comments, too. Remember that your reviews help my muse. :)**

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Chapter 4

As Melissa got closer to the crime scene the smile on her face grew. The sorrow on the faces of Five-0 was just what she wanted to see and what Hawkes needed to hear. They were frantic, pacing around the scene with no word on their teammates.

She saw just as Search and Rescue headed into the wrecked building via the front entrance but couldn't guess why. Maybe they had to know something that wasn't shared with the tons of media still arriving. When word got out that two of the Five-0 members were trapped in a hotel where a bomb had just gone off, the news crews jumped at it right away.

Adjusting her sunglasses, Melissa slowly made her way closer so she could hopefully hear what was going on. The shorts and tank top she wore allowed her to blend in with the hotel guests and the hat covered her red hair. She wasn't worried about being seen by the cops; she just knew to follow Ron's instructions to the letter.

Thirty minutes passed since she arrived and she still hadn't found out anything about McGarrett. She figured that Hawkes was already working on the next step and should probably head there now but she was stopped from heading to her car when she heard the female cop, Kono she remembered from Ron's files, called out to her cousin that they could go back inside now to help in the search. She watched them closely as they jogged inside using the same front entrance that Search and Rescue used.

Before long her cell phone buzzed alerting her of a new message. Reading it quickly before putting it back in her pocket, Melissa left the scene.

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Danny slowly walked across the floor with the aid of the wall. He had been moving, searching for a way out for but a few minutes when he needed to stop to catch his breath. His vision was hazy and the room tilted every now and then which wasn't good for the detective.

Holding his side, he carefully leaned back against the wall. He thought back to the moments leading up to the blast, the explosion itself and waking up; trying to figure out anything but the lingering thought of watching Steve and the victim Taylor fall through the floor didn't allow him to get very far.

Then his mind decided to focus on his daughter. He thought back to when he saw her over the weekend and how he didn't want to take his eyes off of her. Their lunch date was all too short so he promised, if Rachel let him, to do it again the following weekend. A sharp pain coursing through his body made him wonder if he'd see his Gracie again.

_'No!'_ Danny said to himself at the thought of never seeing his child again. He'd find a way to get out of here. He'd find a way to get Steve out of here. He'd find Ron Hawkes. And he would see, hold and kiss his Grace again.

But first he needed to rest.

Just for a second...

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"We've cleared most of the first floor except the Northeast corner where a ceiling collapsed. We aren't sure what's back that way." one of the Search and Rescue men said once Chin and Kono joined them. As they looked around that saw that most of the bombs damage was on one end of the hotel.

"I'll have Duke get the building plans from the hotel manager so we can find out." Chin quickly made the call while Kono glanced around the scene.

"Cuz, are you seeing what I'm seeing?"

"If what you're seeing is major damage to only one end of the building, among other things, then yes." said Chin as he stepped over the remains of a desk. "Why would Hawkes only target one side of a hotel?"

Kono thought back to the profile that Five-0 made of Ron Hawkes. As far as they knew he did all of his jobs alone. What they couldn't figure out was what he wanted with Taylor Cardoza. "Maybe... it comes back to our victim."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, over the past ten months he's killed fourteen people ranging from small shop owners to bankers all over the Mainland. Where does a diner waitress fit into this?"

Chin thought for a moment, trying to catch on with where his cousin was going. "He's showing us that it doesn't matter who his target is. That he can go after anyone he wants; it's a sign of power."

"Right, right. But why not make a play on someone with a bigger title?" Kono pressed as they waited for Duke to get back with the plans. "He's hasn't made threats on the HPD or the governor. It's like he's waiting for something."

"If that's the case, what?"

* * *

"What was that?" Taylor asked looking around. Steve could hear the fear in her voice so he acted fast.

"Taylor, I need you to listen to me. The ceiling above us can't hold the weight of whatever is on top of it for much longer."

"B-but we're trapped. We can't get out."

Steve continued to tread water as he tried to get Taylor to calm down. "I need to have a look beneath us; maybe there's a way out. Can you stay afloat?"

"I-I think so." Steve helped Taylor even her breathing before slowing releasing his grip around her. As soon as he had let go her head dipped under the murky water. Quickly he had her back in his arms as she coughed water from her lungs and wiped her face. "My arms,"

Steve nodded knowing what she meant. Her body had gone without proper use for an unknown amount of time so he helped her move her arms and legs more so she could get the blood flowing.

After a minute they tried again, this time around Taylor stayed above water. "I don't know h-how long I c-can do this,"

"I'll be back before long." the fear he saw in her eyes gave him pause. He wasn't going to let Hawkes get any satisfaction from this so taking a deep breath, Steve dove into the depths.

Steve swam down until his hands touched the bottom of the pool. Looking back up he could see Taylor still treading water and figured that it was between twelve and fourteen feet deep. Surprisingly the lights in the pool were lit which allowed him to see what he had to work against.

Broken beams of wood were scattered across the bottom and pieces of carpet were hanging on to what was left of the floor. Steve made his way over to the wall and tried to move the beams but was unable to. His lungs called out for air so he decided to head back when a glimmer caught attention. Swimming over to the other side of the pool he saw an area that could be their way out.

He had just turned back to head to the surface when a dark flash swept across his vision and something knocked into him, sending him to the pool floor. After a struggle to clear his head, Steve realized that he was on his back and one of the wooden beams were laying across his waist.

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**Review and I'll try to have the next chapter out sooner.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Welcome new readers/followers. You all are so kind! And to the ones who take a few seconds to leave a review: they're beyond encouraging and my muse is in a happy place right now. So here is the next chapter!**

**Disclaimer: If I owned them, I would make this into an episode for Season 4. :)**

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Chapter 5

Melissa walked into Ron's office and grabbed the drink on the table that was clearly meant for her. She downed the alcohol quickly and poured herself another glass before going to join the man who was busying himself on his computer.

She was dying on the inside to question why he called her back when she was close to getting some information but she held her tongue. She wasn't going to get on his bad side by doing or saying something that wasn't needed.

After a minute of standing in silence, Ron motioned for her to have a seat. She did on a plush chair that easily showed its age and beauty. "Do you know why I called you back?"

Melissa took a slow sip of her wine. "You must've gotten information the you needed."

"No, actually, I haven't heard anything." Ron said moving away from his desk and pouring himself a drink. "I am going to leave getting news about the cops to the reporters; surely they'll know faster than you ever could've." Mel held a witty comeback by gulping down the rest of her second glass. "And, because I have a job far more important for you my dear."

"What do you need me to do?"

"I need you to get close to the female Five-0 cop, Kono." Ron stroked Melissa's hair through his fingers.

"Hmm, why her? What are you thinking?" not liking being left out of his plans, Melissa took a chance and questioned him decision.

"She is a very important part of my plan." Hawkes said standing to his feet. The more he thought about being the one to take down Five-0 the more he wanted to jump into action. But he didn't knowing that it would take time. He always said that an artists greatest work is not measured by the finished product, but by the amount of time put in it to it to make it great. And Ron Hawkes did love his art.

"Boss, you're going to want to see this." a voice suddenly said from the door way. Normally, Ron wouldn't stand for actions such as interrupting him in his office but the look on his pawns face proved it to be urgent. Following the younger man, Ron and Melissa went to the living room where the giant flat screen tv was on a news anchor; the hotel evident in the background.

_"...gotten word that they have found one of the three people trapped in this mornings hotel explosion. While we are still waiting on confirmation about who it is they found_,_ we can tell you that they are doing everything they can to get the person out in a quick amount of time._

_"And as you_ _can see_ _the paramedics are on stand-by per orders from the members of Five-0. Now, all we can do is wait and pray for the best."_

* * *

A few minutes later, Chin had the building plans pulled up in his hands as Duke had sent them to his phone. The sun had vanished behind the clouds earlier and the small of rain was in the air.

"Okay, according to this the pool is back there. The hotel manager said it's been under renovations for about a month so the guests had been using the one outside."

"How are we going to get back get back there?" asked Kono. "We don't have time to move every piece."

"She's right." said the leader of the Search and Rescue. "If your men are still alive time isn't something we can wast right now."

"What about cutting a hole through an area where we could send someone in to look?"

"I don't think we should chance it. The structure is too unstable to weaken what's keeping it standing."

Chin was growing more and more frustrated with each second that passed where they didn't get any progress made. "Okay. Forget about the first floor. When Danny was on the phone with Kono earlier he said that they found Taylor Cardoza on the second floor. How fast can you get men up there?"

"The stairwell on this end of the building is slightly blocked. My men aren't small enough to fit through the open area so our best chance is backtracking to the stairwell on the other side of the building and working our way across."

"Send me." everyone turned to look at Kono who had a determined face on. "Like you said, time isn't something we have. We can send men to go the way you want but I can fit through this area."

"Kono, are you sure?" asked Chin. "We don't even know if they're on that side."

"And we don't know if they're on the other side either. But if I'm right and Danny and Steve did get to our victim before Hawkes detonated the bomb then they would've been headed towards the nearest exit."

Chin knew his cousin was right but didn't want to admit it because of the dangers that lay in front of her. Finally he nodded his support and one of the men went to get her the gear she needed. "Be careful, Cuz."

Kono smiled but didn't say anything and followed the Search and Rescue member to get ready.

* * *

'I can't do it. I'm so sorry Gracie, I can't.' Danny's mind was wondering as he fought to stay awake. One minute he's on the beach watching his daughter swim in the ocean and the next a blinding pain is coursing through his side. The detective blinked to clear his fading vision but that only made it worse. 'Danno loves you, Grace.'

'Danno? Danno, wake up.'

'Danno is tired, Monkey.'

'Danno, wake up. We're going on our date, remember? Danno?'

'I-I can't.'

'Yes you can. I know you can, Danno. I need you. Dad?'

Danny's eyes shot open and he coughed hard. He looked around to find his daughter but the room was now growing darker. In a panicked state of not knowing where his Monkey was he worked himself to his feet and called out. "Grace!" He fumbled for his phone but when he tried to turned it on the screen remained black.

"Grace!"

"Danny?"

"Gracie, where are you honey?" Danny used the wall to help keep his balance as he followed his child's small voice. He stumbled over different items but none of that stopped his journey. "Danno's coming, Monkey. Hang on!"

"Danny? Danny, It's me, Kono." the Jersey native felt someone touch his shoulder but her wasn't looking at them. "No, my daughter is here. I have to find here!"

"Danny, listen to me. Grace is safe. She's not here." Kono said trying to bring her friend back to reality. "Chin, I found Danny. He conscious but pretty out of it."

_"Okay, get him to calm down and check for injuries. And try to find out where Steve and Taylor Cardoza are."_

"Roger that." Kono turned back to Danny who had leaned back against the wall. She could hear his labored breathing and saw with the help of her flashlight that her was favoring his wrist. "Danny, can you hear me?"

Kono kept her light high enough so she could see Williams face but low enough where it wasn't in his eyes. "Kono...?" his voice was small and unsure and filled with pain. Kono swallowed the lump in his throat and quickly got to work. "Yeah, Bruh, it's me."

"S-Steve..."

"Shh, let's get you taken care of first. Okay?"

* * *

Taylor Cardoza was known at work to be a calm person. At their busiest hour she always had an evenness about her as she ran around taking orders and cleaning tables. One of her secrets was counting backwards from sixty over and over again to help even her heartbeat. So that's what she did when that man-she didn't even get his name-dove under to have a look around.

She had just reached zero when she realized that the man wasn't back. Turning full circle in the water the panic began to rise when she thought that something had to have gone wrong. She was unaware of how long he could hold his breath and knew that if he did find a way out he wouldn't have left her there alone.

Fear worked up into her throat and she couldn't find words to call out. Her head hurt and small drops of blood continued to fall into the water but that didn't stop her from taking a deep breath and diving. At first she didn't know what to do or to look for as she swam to the bottom and wondered if she had made a mistake. Maybe the man really did leave here to die. Maybe he was never there to begin with and the pain in her head was a sign of that. Maybe Jesse got what he always wanted; her death.

Just when she was about to go back as her chest began to grow tighter a flicker caught her attention. Taylor saw the man, motionless, beneath a wooden beam. She swam over as fast as she could and noticed that the flicker was off on a badge on the his belt.

She saw that his eyes were slightly opened but he showed no sighs of seeing her so thinking on her feet she pressed her lips against his hoping that oxygen was the only thing he was lacking.

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**Review? My muse really loves her happy place. :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry for the wait. My muse was a bit dry. :/ Thanks to the four people who reviewed the last chapter and those who are no following/faved it.**

**Disclaimer: Hahahahahah. Nope.**

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Chapter 6

Pacing back and forth in front of the television, Ron waited for news to break on who the rescue workers found. He sent Melissa to get ready for her assignment and had a small talk with JT about interrupting him in his office that may or may not have included the gun that was now tucked in the waistband of his pants.

The sound of shoes coming up behind him caused him to turn around to face Mel who was now dressed in her disguise.

"Perfect." Ron said bring her closer to him.

"It's not too much?" she brushed a strand of blonde hair away from her face and fixed the glasses that sat towards the edge of her nose.

"Not at all, dear. Blonde looks amazing on you."

"I think it's a bit too long for my personal liking, but Nurse Raine can make it work.

"That she can." Ron said. He pulled out a small pouch from his pocket and gave it to Mel. "You should get going. The closest hospital from the hotel is Queens so that's where they'll take them and I want you there before they arrive as to not draw attention to yourself. You know what to do?"

"Yes. They won't even know what hit them." Melissa smiled and put the pouch safely in her purse.

"Good." Ron turned back to the tv where the news reporter was reading from a sheet of paper someone gave her. Though the tv was muted the picture was zoomed in on a stretcher as it was led to a waiting ambulance by paramedics and the female Five-0 member. The cameras caught a quick glance of blonde hair before it was loaded into the bus and spade off for Queens.

* * *

"Danny, look at me. That's right, open your eyes, c'mon." Kono patted Williams face lightly as the man slowly started to drift towards unconsciousness. She had followed the instructions the Search and Rescue leader gave to her while the men worked to make an exit for them.

"...Kono?"

"Yeah, Danny, I'm here. We're gonna get you out soon."

"Can't... Steve needs... h-help."

Kono wondered for a moment if he knew where they're missing Commander was. "Danny? Do you know where he is?"

Danny took a deep breath to help clear his cloudy mind. He heard Kono talking to him, but the words sounded mumbled at best and the pain wasn't helping anything. Finally he managed a raspy reply. "He and our victim, they were right behind me." Kono nodded and waited for the detective to continue, noticing that he was speaking more clearly. "They just... fell through the floor. I-I blacked out after that."

"They fell through the-" Kono stopped suddenly when she realized what Danny was talking about. Pulling out her radio she called Chin. "Cuz, Steve and Taylor Cardoza are underneath us!"

_"What do you mean underneath? The pool area has been closed off; they can't have gotten in there."_

"Danny said that they fell through the floor when the bomb went off. That's where they've got to be."

_"Okay. The guys are almost done clearing a path to get you and Danny out of there. I'll go check the pool out."_

* * *

The presser was growing with each passing second but Taylor refused to leave the cop's side. She pulled back from pressing her lips against his in hopes of seeing any movement of him being alive. Finally she couldn't take it anymore and swam to the top as fast as she dared so she wouldn't get the bends. After taking only a couple of seconds to fill her lungs again she dove back down.

When she reached his side again she began to shake his shoulder to try to wake him up. She knew it would be pointless to try to listen to his heart so she felt for a pulse on his wrist. She inwardly sighed when she found it, albeit faint, and quickly breathed into his mouth again.

After what felt like hours she saw him blink his eyes twice. Taylor watched as he became more aware of the situation while trying to think of a plan to get him from under the beam. There was nothing around to aid with lifting it off of him and she was sure that he was weak from being under for so long.

The man was clearly more aware of what was going on so Taylor pointed to the surface before swimming away to get more oxygen for him.

Meanwhile, Steve tried to lift the beam off of his waist but had no luck. He could barely feel his legs and was worried that the blood wasn't flowing through them anymore. His arms were getting more numb and his head was cloudy. Just when black spots started to dance across his line of vision something, no, someone pressed they're lips against his and he felt air entering his lungs.

The person pulled back and he saw the woman, Taylor a few feet away from him near the beam as she was trying to lift it. He tried to help but was unsuccessful.

Taylor was beginning to run out of air was getting ready to swim to the top to get air for both of them when the cop pulled on her arm, weakly she noted, and shook his head. In his mind, Steve realized that there was no way that she could lift the beam and he was in not condition to help her. He didn't want her to die trying to help him. He wanted her to survive.

When Taylor realized what the cop was shaking his head at she froze. Why was he giving up? There had to be something around to help. Swimming to the surface, she gasped and wiped strands of hair from her face. She coughed a bit of water from her mouth and was ready to dive down again when she heard a noise. She paused and listened again, hoping that it would sound again.

"Hello? Steve?" a voice suddenly said.

If her limbs were heavy as led, Taylor would have fist pumped. Instead she called out to the voice hoping that the person would help. "Help! I'm over here!" she dipped under the water momentarily and gagged again.

"Hello? Where are you?" the voice was getting closer and Taylor tried to find it. She swam over to the edge of the pool that was only slightly covered with the ceiling and stuck her hand out. "I'm over her! Please, help!"

She gasped when she felt the hand of someone but didn't let that stop her rambling. "Please help us! We're trapped and he's running out of air. I can't get him out!"

"It's going to be alright." the man said slowing her down. "I'm Lieutenant Chin Ho Kelly with Five-0. What's your name? Who running out of air?"

"T-Taylor. I don't know his name. I think he's a cop. He's trapped under a beam and I can't move it!"

"Okay, Taylor. I need you to calm down for me. Everything is going to be alright." Before Chin could get another word in the woman, Taylor, was gone. It was only a few seconds but he took that time to radio a team in so they could assess the situation.

Chin heard the water break before the woman spoke again. "He told be not to come back, but I couldn't let him die! I don't know how much longer-"

"Hey, hey. Taylor, listen to my voice. That's right; now take a deep breath. A team of experts are here to get you out."

"O-kayy." Taylor did as she was told but she couldn't focus. It seemed as though the pounding in her head was worse now than earlier.

"What?" she asked when she realized that the man was talking to her.

"How are you feeling?" the man, Chin, asked.

"Um, I'm really-y cold." she paused. "And my head hurts. Badly." she added. Chin wasn't really one for guessing but he figured that being in the water was taking a toll. They had to move fast.

"Okay, I'm going to stay here with you while my men work of getting you two out of there."

"I-I have to got b-back down to h-him."

Chin knew she was right. He didn't want to tell her not to, that she needed to conserve her energy and strength, but was quick to realize that it would be pointless. "Alright. I'll be right here."

Chin waited for too long by his liking when he noticed that Taylor never surfaced.

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	7. Chapter 7

**You all are so great! Thank you!**

**Finally, The Rescue. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own H50.**

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Chapter 7

Chin jumped to his feet just as the rescue crew entered through the back of the room where shattered glass lay on the floor from them breaking it. He kept his ears on the water hoping to hear it break again while informing the men of what was going on.

"I've got one confirmed female victim in the water and another unconfirmed male possibly trapped at the bottom of the pool." said Chin. "I was able to talk to her for a few minutes before she dove back under to aid the man but she never surfaced."

"Do you know who the man might be?" the leader asked as he shrugged off his bag of gear. He looked towards the pool so he would know what he would need.

"She said he might be a cop. Could be Commander Steve McGarrett."

The search and rescue leader walked over to the side of the pool where Lieutenant Kelly had just been and noticed a small area that wasn't nearly big enough for any one to go through. "We could cut through this area right here but the only risk is the structure collapsing before we got in there. Did the woman say where the man was trapped?"

"No. But she mentioned a beam; probably from the ceiling." Chin motioned to the gigantic hole above them.

"Okay, that makes this a bit harder. We don't know where they are so the risk of this falling on them is greater. We'll have to dive in from here," the man, Donning, said pointing to the shallow end of the pool. "If we're lucky there should be an area we can get through."

Chin nodded his support and stepped aside to let the men work. He watched them pull out the required equipment that they had on hand. "Go to the truck and bring me a medium tank, mask, and extra line." Donning said to one other man. "Lieutenant Kelly, when Jones comes back I'm going to go down and have a look for myself; move any derbies that could be in the way. Use this radio," he handed over the aforementioned device. "to keep in touch. Jones and Green will be on the other end of the line to help bring the people to safety with the help of my guiding from the water."

"Copy."

Before long Donning was in his gear and in the water with his two other partners holding tightly to his line and without another word the man dove beneath the murky waters.

"Lieutenant Kelly, do you read me?"

"Loud and clear. What do you see?"

There was silence before the radio came to life again. "There is a hole on the farthest side of the pool; I'm going through now." Chin watched the men, Jones and Green, giving their leader slack. They were very professional in their work, keeping the task of making sure that Donning had everything he needed to make this rescue a success first.

"I've got two people, male and female, unconsciousness about fourteen feet below surface. The man is indeed trapped under a wooden beam. He has a badge on him."

Chin suppressed a string of curses. "What about the woman?"

"She is close to him. Tell Green to get another line ready and feed it through the small hole up there. I'm bringing the woman up now." Chin relayed the message before calling for the paramedics to come inside. He waited until Donning had surface before going over to the side and to help pull Taylor from the waters grip. He noticed right away that she was cold at the touch and her lips held a tinge of blue to them. Placing two of his fingers to her neck in search of a pulse, and finding a faint one he said, "She's not breathing! Where are those medics?!" Chin started doing CPR, alternating between chest compressions and giving breathes. He only stopped when the medics arrived and took over.

"Jones and Green get ready; I'm going to tie this around the beam to get the man out. After two tugs pull as hard as you can!" Donning said before going back under.

It wasn't long before the two men felt the sharp tug on the line and they reacted quickly. Chin helped Jones and Green keep a bold on the line, the weight on the beam causing their muscles to burn. Finally, Donning's voice sounded through the radio. "I've got him." just before the man surfaced.

Chin allowed Green and Jones to continue to pull their leader and Steve closer to the pools edge as he kelt down to help get the commander out of the water. He repeated his actions in checking for a pulse and held his breath when he didn't find one. A steady hand gently moved his aside as a paramedic took over in checking the SEALs vitals. The medic shook her head when the pulse she found was slow and too weak for her liking. After listening to the Five-0 commanders chest she said, "We need to get the water out of his lungs, now!"

Chin backed up a little more to give the paramedics room to work. He looked from Steve's still form back to Taylor who was being given the same treatment and care. Two more paramedics had arrived as well.

"Okay. Okay, good. His airway is as clear as I can get; get a mask on him."

"Call Queens and inform them that we have two victims suffering from moderate to severe hypothermia. Tell them to have blankets, heating pads, hot water bottles, anything and everything ready!"

The four paramedics, two to each Steve and Taylor, were busy with giving CPR and preparing for the ride to the hospital. Chin watched with intent eyes as the feeling of helplessness began to rise. He wanted to ask so many questions since hypothermia wasn't a common case on the island but knew that the medics had more important things to do than give medical lessons.

"We need to get them out of these wet clothes."

"Shouldn't we wait until we get to Queens?" one of the medics asked.

"No, we can't wait. We have enough blankets in the bus to at least start getting them warmed before we arrive. Get a C-collar on the woman; I don't like the look of that laceration on her head."

"It hasn't stopped bleeding since we got her out of the water."

The rest of the conversation was drowned out as the medics raced to the waiting ambulances with Steve and Taylor secured to gurneys. Chin wanted to go with them but knew he had a job to do. He was sure that Kono was at the hospital with Danny so he pulled out his phone and dialed his cousin.

* * *

**Not much of a cliffy this time around. Next chapter we'll check in on Danny and Kono. ...and Mel. *evil laugh*  
**

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	8. Chapter 8

**Thank you for the continuing support of this story. It blows me away when I see how many follows/favs/reviews this fic has received. I'm glad you all are enjoying the ride!**

**Disclaimer: Still don't own H50.**

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Chapter 8

Kono paced back and forth in the hallway off of the ER area as she waited for news on Danny. Her clothes were ashen from crawling on the ground of the destroyed hotel and she was nursing a cup of ice water to help relieve the dryness of her throat. The officers adrenaline was still going strong so she passed on what the hospital offered as coffee.

"Officer Kalakaua?" Kono turned around to face an older man wearing a white coat. "I'm Doctor Timothy Nolan. I'm looking after Detective Williams."

Kono shook the man's offered hand. "How is he?"

"He is doing surprisingly well considering what he had been though over these last few hours." Doctor Nolan turned to the folder in his hands. "He has a bit of bruising along his left side and on his ribs. Thankfully they weren't broken but he'll be very sore for a while. He also had a gash on his shoulder that required about fifteen stitches and his left wrist has a very small hairline fracture but that is nothing to worry about. I would like to keep him overnight but he's fighting me hard on that."

"Thanks, Doc. Can I see him?"

"Yes, he's in room 119."

Kono watched the doctor leave as she breathed a sigh of relief. Danny had been lucky to not have sustained far worse injures in the explosion. She had just started to head towards the detectives room when her phone rang. Kono wasted no time when she saw that it was her cousin. "What've you got, Chin?"

_"We found Steve and Taylor Cardoza."_ said Chin. _"The ambulances just left so they should be arriving at Queens in a few minutes."_

"Where did you find them? Are they alright?"

_"They were trapped in the pool that was being remodeled on the first floor. Steve was... it's not looking good right now for either of them. I'm going to stay here and gather anything I can before I head to the office. How's Danny?"_

"He, uh, has some bruised ribs and a few cuts. Nothing bad but the doctor wants to keep him overnight to be safe. I was just on my way to see him."

_"Okay. Keep me updated, will ya?"_

"Sure thing, Cuz."Kono hung up her phone and pocketed it before knocking softly on the door to room 119. She didn't wait for a reply, guessing that Danny would be asleep from the exhaustion. Instead she found him sitting on the edge of the bed trying his best to get his shirt on.

"You look like you could use some help." said Kono at the sound of Danny's wince. "Or another painkiller."

"What I need to do is get out of here." Danny had just gotten his left arm through his sleeve when he felt Kono's hand on his arm. "You should be resting like the doctor said."

"Can't. Not when Hawkes is still out there and not until someone gives me news on Steve."

Kono sighed. "He and our victim should be arriving here any minute if they haven't already."

"How are they? Where were they found?"

"I don't know yet. Chin said that they were found in the pool on the first floor."

Danny gave up trying to put his shirt on and sat back against a couple of pillows. "In the pool? As in wa... shit. How long were they in there?"

"Danny, when I find out anything I'll let you know. But right now you need to take care of yourself. Your not going to get much done if your run down."

"I know, but Kono-"

"No buts. You should at least call Grace. I'm sure she'd love to hear from you." at the mention of his daughter a smile, albeit a small one, worked its way across the face of the worried detective. When Danny didn't say another word, Kono left to find out if Steve and Taylor had been brought in. In her haste she almost knocked over a nurse who was headed to Danny's room. The woman apologized as she hurried to pick up the items she had dropped.

"Here, let me help you with that." said Kono as she picked up a small bottle of morphine. "Sorry. Are you alright?"

The woman nodded a few times before replying, "Yes. Yes, I'm fine. Thank you, Ms," she let the words hang since she didn't know what to call the dark haired woman in front of her.

"Officer Kalakaua. I'm with Five-0."

"You are with Five-0?" the woman, Nurse Raine, asked excitedly. "Oh, I'm so relieved to see that you are okay. We all heard about the bomb that went off. I was called in to help since it was unknown how many were injured. Isn't Detective Williams with Five-0, too?"

"Yes. And thankfully there weren't many injuries."

Nurse Raine smiled. She pushed her glasses up higher on her nose and motioned to the items in her hand. "Well, I had better hurry up and give Detective Williams his next dose of morphine. It was a pleasure to talk to you, Officer Kalakaua."

"Likewise." Kono went to the ER desk to see if there was any news on Steve.

* * *

Chin had been back at Headquarters for only a few moments when he got a call from Charlie Fong. He was eager to hear what the other man had found since he had come to a dead end with the little evidence he could gather from the hotel.

"Charlie, what've you got?"

"Let me start with the bad news; the way the floor collapsed under Commander McGarrett and your victim led me to believe that a trail of devices was planted some time before today's explosion. Off of a hunch I asked the hotel manager if anyone had worked on the lights, the ceiling in general, that runs along the hallway McGarrett and Detective Williams were headed down, within the last week to week and a half. There was."

Chin was about to interject but Charlie held up his hand. "That's not all."

"Of course it isn't,"

"When one of the CSIs was searching the room where Taylor Cardoza had been held, they matched her hair and blood that was in the tub, they came across a second bomb behind a false panel in the wall that had come loose. The Bomb Squad took care of it quickly; by the looks of it, it was supposed to go off less than a minute after the one that did go off."

"And the good news?" Lieutenant Kelly asked hopefully.

"It's not much, but since the second bomb was fully in tact, I can run trace on it. Try to find anything that'll lead us to where it was made."

Chin thought for a moment before saying his thanks. Something Charlie said got him thinking. He needed to get to the hospital and question Ms. Cardoza because all he could think about was that the woman got herself mixed into something big.

The drive to Queens was a silent one for Chin. He replayed his conversation with Charlie, the part that stood out the most, over and over as he tried to understand what it meant: a second bomb was found near where Taylor Cardoza was.

Why? Why would Hawkes target her at all? What was the reason to want to get rid of her?

When he arrived at the hospital, Chin texted Kono as asked where she was and a minute later he found himself in Danny's new room. The detective was fast asleep and his cousin was sitting in a nearby chair.

"He's just taking a quick nap." said Kono as she motioned to Danny. "He told me to wake him when you got here."

"I'm not asleep anymore." Danny carefully pushed himself up into more of a sitting position when Chin came over to shake his hand.

"How you doin', Bruh?"

"Fine. Have either of you heard about Steve yet?" before Chin or Kono could answer a knock sounded on the door.

"Detective Williams?"

"That's me,"

"I'm Doctor Jordan Martin. I'm caring for Commander McGarrett and Taylor Cardoza. You are listed as Commander McGarrett's emergency contact, correct?"

"Yeah, how is he?"

"When the Commander was brought in he was in the beginning stages of severe hypothermia. His temperature was 83.7 and we had a hard time getting him warm again. It was also said that he was trapped under a beam while in the water and that's what I'm most worried about.

"He has bruising on his pelvic area and the weight of the beam along with the time of it being on top of him led to some swelling in his lower spine. I won't know for sure until he wakes up but it looks like he could be paralyzed from the waist down."

Doctor Martin stayed silent for a moment while she left the Five-0 members take in the news.

"Is there any way to know how bad it is or could be?"

"Well, since it was in fourteen feet of water the beam didn't land too hard on him. It is easy to tell you that it could very well be temporary, but I don't want to get your hopes up."

"Okay. What about Taylor Cardoza?" Kono finally asked.

"She wasn't much better off. Her temperature was 84.5. She has a head wound that looked worse than it was but it became infected while in the water. But there is something else I need to ask you about,"

"What is it?"

"You found her in a tub in the hotel. What happened before that?"

Knowing that it would be good for the case, Chin told the doctor as little as possible, "She was kidnapped Sunday night in Oahu. Why?"

"She has injuries to her ribs and arms. I found defensive wounds on her hands that are only a few days old. And signs of breaks on her legs and torn ligaments in her shoulder that could be nine to sixteen months old.

"All signs of abuse."

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**Annnnd plot twist!**

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	9. Chapter 9

**Things that are (nearly) impossible: cutting waffles without the use of your dominate hand. Things that are possible: writing most of this chapter with your dominate arm in a sling.**

**Thanks for reading/reviewing/following/favoriting this fic.**

**Onward!**

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Chapter 9

"Abuse?" Danny asked slowly. "Like relationship abuse?"

"It's possible. That or she walks down dark alleys far too often." Doctor Martin said.

"We need to talk to her," Chin said. "There's too many questions surrounding her."

Kono shot her cousin a questioning look as Doctor Martin continued.

"I'm afraid that's not going to happen right away. She's in a medically induced coma. Her body needs time to fight off the infection."

"How long will that take?"

Doctor Martin could tell that this group, although one man short, was a persistent lot. She admired and respected them for that. "That is up it her. I'm going to keep her in the ICU overnight and monitor her vitals. If she improves enough, I'll get her moved to a privet room in the morning."

"Does that go for Steve, too?" Danny fidgeted in his bed not liking how still he had to be.

"Commander McGarrett is scheduled for a CT scan in about an hour. He'll be moved to his own room after that." a beeping noise from the doctors breast pocket sounded. Upon reading the message she said, "I'm sorry, but I have other patients to see. If you have any more questions just ask one of the nurses to get me."

Once Doctor Martin was gone and the door to Danny's room shut, Kono spoke up. "Chin, why do we need to talk to Taylor Cardoza so bad? What did you find out?"

Chin proceeded to tell them what Charlie found. Namely the second bomb that was near their victim. Danny froze when he heard that a bomb, meant to go off, was only feet away from where he was standing. What if it did go off? What if-

"Danny?" Kono waved a hand in front of the detectives face. "Did you hear what Chin said?"

Williams blinked and wiped his face with his hand. "Sorry, I must've spaced out there. Uh, go on,"

"I said I want to talk to her because I think she can shed some light on this case."

"How so?"

"I'm not sure yet. I just don't think that her kidnapping, probably on order by Hawkes, would lead to a bomb being left so close to where they trapped her. He gave us a chance to save her so why would he keep that bomb there? Did he have a rogue assistant or is he just escalating? I need more to go on here and I believe she can at least give us some answers."

Kono and Danny began to follow what Chin was getting at. If there was more than meets the eye with Taylor Cardoza, they needed to find out what it was and fast. Was she someone who worked with Hawkes before she was kidnapped? Or was it an opportunity to show how much power Hawkes had by taking her and placing her in a hotel that he was going to blow up? The questions kept piling up and the frustration of not having any thing solid to go after was growing.

"Okay, here's what we're going to do. You two go back to HQ and get everything you can on Taylor Cardoza. I want to know every little detail about her life, schools she went to, family, friends and information about the diner she works at. Talk to the employes there, too."

Chin and Kono nodded. "What are you going to do?"

Danny laughed and winced, "Me? I'm going to stay here like a good patient so I can stand over Steven tomorrow and give him an earful about this latest mess he got himself, and me for that matter, into."

* * *

Melissa wasn't known by many to be afraid of anything or anyone. She was headstrong and willing, just two of the things that Hawkes loved about her. And when it came to getting a job done under the radar she was his go-to person. She had been the one to stake out nine of Hawkes previous fourteen hits, gaining their trust along the way while the other five were just in the wrong, or right, place when Hawkes took his shot. So, playing nurse wasn't something Mel couldn't do.

Entering a privet restroom and locking the door behind her, Mel took out her cell phone and dialed one of two numbers in her contacts. It rang once before the line was picked up. "They're alive," she said skipping formalities.

_"Who?"_

"All of them. Williams. Cardoza. McGarrett." Mel relayed the information about Steve and Taylor's condition while waiting for Ron to curse out of habit but it never came. In fact, he sounded... happy?

_"Good. That's good._"

"How is this good? I thought you wanted that cop dead. I know JT isn't going to be happy that chick made it, either."

_"No, this is going to work much better than if they had died in the explosion. We get to have some fun with all of Five-0 before I take them down."_

Mel smiled but asked to confirm her suspicions. "When you say 'We.', do you mean,"

_"Yes, my dear. You get to join me again. But you leave McGarrett to me, no exceptions."_

"Of course."

_"Have you been in contact with Kalakaua?"_

"Yeah, she doesn't suspect anything. To her, and Detective Williams, I'm just a clumsy nurse."

_"Good. I want you back here to go over our next step as soon as you are finished at the hospital."_

"Nurse Raine's shift ends at eleven. I'm going to wait until then so no one grows suspicious of me." Melissa checked her watch and saw that she had a few hours to kill. "Have the cops found that office workers body yet?"

_"No, I am going to have one of my men call a tip to HPD later_."

"Do you want me to call JT and tel him about Cardoza?"

The line was silent for a second before Ron spoke up. _"No, I will tell him when he gets in."_

"Where is he?" Mel always wondered where that man ran off to at odd hours. He never told anyone but Ron where he was or what he was doing but that only out of respect and not wanting to die before he could get rid of Taylor.

_"Out."_

Shaking her head, Melissa sighed. "Okay. I should get back before the staff start to miss me. Anything else?"

_"No, love. I'll see you tomorrow."_ the line went dead.

Stepping out of the restroom, Mel noticed that the business of the ER floor had died down. Going over to the computers she searched for the room numbers that her targets were in and after a few keystrokes, she had what she needed. Making sure to erase the history, the woman left with a file in hand to check on her next assignment.

* * *

It was the early the next morning when Chin's phone rang. He reached over to his nightstand and glanced at the clock that read 4:58am and he suppressed a groan. After they had left the hospital he and Kono spent over four hours standing over the smart table and reading files about Taylor Cardoza, trying to find out more about her. They had finally decided to call in a night knowing that Danny would be discharged in the morning. They could use the help.

"Kelly,"

_"Offic-, uh, Lieutenant Kelly? This is Officer Macky with HPD._ _We got an anonymous call this morning about a smell coming from an office building. There's a body."_

Chin sat up more alert. "Text me the address."

After he hung up, Chin dialed his cousin. Telling her what he was informed and to meet him there, he rushed to get dressed and headed for the door.

Twenty minutes later he was at the latest crime scene, Kono right behind him. They were led up a few flights of stairs since the elevators were broken and into a room at the end of a long hallway. "Max, what've we got?"

"As you can see this is quite a mess so I shall join you in skipping the greetings." Max said as he knelt by the body. "The victim is male, mid to late fifties. Cause of death appears to be bleeding out from the three stab wounds to the chest and abdomen areas. I will know more after I do a full autopsy."

Nodding, Chin asked, "Time of death?"

"I would say eighteen to twenty hours ago."

"Chin, you gotta see this." said Kono from across the room. She was standing near a window with the blinds half raised and the look on her face was troubling.

"What is it?"

"This office is directly in front of the hotel that the bomb was in yesterday. Hawkes had to have been watching the whole thing."

* * *

**Review?**


	10. Chapter 10

**Thanks for getting this fic over 100 reviews! :)**

**My muse thinks it time for more action, so here's a little taste.**

**Annnnd who's ready for the Season Four premier of Hawaii Five-0 tomorrow?! *raises hand***

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Chapter 10

"Kono, let's not jump to conclusions." said Chin as they walked the halls of the hospital to Danny's room. The detective was to be discharged that morning and they wanted to bring him up to speed on what they had found out about Taylor Cardoza.

"I'm not jumping to conclusions. I'm taking the facts and drawing a picture." Kono said. "The room has a clear view of the entire hotel so whoever it was could've seen the entire thing. Not to mention that the security cameras weren't working and we have a body."

"We can't make assumptions, even if it was Hawkes. You know we can't go about an investigation like that."

Kono sigh. "I know. It's just, he's killed so many people already. He's hurt Steve and Danny; I just want to catch this lowlife."

"We will."

"Hey, what did you find out?" Danny asked as they walked into his room. He was sitting on the edge of his bed with his untied shoes on. His face had a bit more color to it and he wasn't wincing at the slightest movements he made.

"Okay, so she was born in Brooklyn, New York. No other family we could find other than a foster mother who adopted her when she was only a few weeks old but she passed away a few years ago." Kono started. "She stayed in the city all the way through high school and came to the Island. She attended Hawaii University at Manoa to study Marine Biology and has a house by the beach. I'm going by there today."

"What about the diner?"

"I'm going to head over there later. Thought we'd tell you about a body that could be Hawkes doing. We're not sure yet." Chin told Danny about the office building across the hotel and the small clues that led Kono to believe it was Hawkes' doing.

"Chin is right, Kono. We don't have time to go off of hunches. It could be somebody else." Danny said. "But, I think it's worth looking into. If Hawkes is escalating, we can't take the chance and overlook something like this."

"What's our next move, then?"

"Maybe I can help with that." a voice said behind the trio. There stood Doctor Martin in the doorway with the faintest of smiles on her face. "Commander McGarett has been responding well to our tests and reacting to voices and touch. He should be waking up soon and by then we'll know how to proceed."

"Can we see him?" asked Danny hopefully.

"I will allow you to watch, but you must give us room to work. Follow me."

The three Five-0 members followed the doctor to Steve's room in silence. They didn't know what to expect, even though it had been a but a few hours since they last saw the Super SEAL. "Wait here," Doctor Martin said. She left them in the hallway while she entered Steve's room. They watched her and a couple of nurses go back and forth about the room, retrieving different items. They were gathered around the commanders still body and all Chin and Kono and Danny could do was wait.

Finally, after only a couple minutes since they're arrival, Steve slowly opened his eyes.

Danny was the first to notice the Doctor's shoulders tense and he stepped into the open doorway and questioned, "What's wrong?"

"Commander McGarrett, I need you to calm down. You're in Queens. Commander!"

By now Danny was by the bedside, watching while the nurses were also trying to get through to his friend. "I need you to talk to him, Detective. Get him to relax."

"Steve? Steven, it's alright." Danny said wasting no time in following Doctor Martin's advice. "You're alright, babe, calm down. That's it, breathe."

"Good, good. Keep it up while I work."

"Talk to me, Steve." pressed Danny. He wasn't liking the silence the SEAL giving and the look confusion was troubling. "Steve?"

"Dan-ny...?"

"Yeah, I'm here. I'm right here."

"A little bit longer, Detective."

"Danny-y, the woman. She's-" Steve trailed off. For a second, Danny wondered what had caused him to go quite but as his eyes got wider, Steve spoke up again. "Where is she?" McGarrett's voice was steady and sure. He sounded like himself even though he didn't look like himself.

"I'm going to take him for another CT scan." Doctor Martin said quickly. "I'll be in touch."

Danny stood back out of the way while Steve, now unconscious once again, was wheeled away.

"Wait, Doc." Danny said stopping Martin. "'The woman, uh, Cardoza? What room is she in?"

"I can't tell you that right now. She's going through some tests but doing a lot better. I'll let you more when I get back."

* * *

The sound of a door closing and the rough feeling of something gripping her body tightly awoke Taylor from a dreamless state of rest. Her eyes snapped open and focused on the looming figure standing over her bed. She could feel the color draining from her face as she looked into the eyes of the man.

"So you do recognize me." Jesse sneered. "Good to know that I didn't hit you hard enough to give you brain damage. But then again, it would be best if you didn't remember."

Taylor was still weak; unsure of how long it had been since Jesse had kidnapped her from the diner. She tried to grabbed at his arms but he only laughed. Swiftly he had a knife pressed hard against her throat, but not enough to draw any blood but to hinder her movements.

"I should've ended your miserable life when I had the chance. But Hawkes insisted on sparing it for some game he's playing with those cops." Jesse smiled down at Taylor. "I didn't like it at first but when he told me his plan, I figured you'd burn in the explosion. I was wrong."

Taylor gagged at the pressure that was getting harder on her neck, wanting to scream as she felt the sharp blade begin to break the skin. "P-please stop-p-"

"Shhh. You know I never lie to you, Tay." Jesse spat out her name as if it stung his mouth. "This will be very slow and very painful for-"

Suddenly the door to Taylor's room burst open and Melissa ran in. "JT, you need to get out of here."

"Dammit, Mel! I told you not to come in here!" said Jesse not bothering to look over his shoulder. He hand his sights on one task and didn't want anything deterring him.

"Those cops are on this floor. You need to go before the doctor bring them to see her." Mel said pointing to Taylor.

He knew she was right but didn't want to admit it. Growling ands clenching his teeth, Jesse leaned down close to Taylor and whispered in her ear before leaving the room.

Melissa watched him leave and grabbed a roll of gauze and other items to clean Taylor's wound. "If you say anything, it'll be the last thing you ever do." Mel said low enough for Taylor to hear clearly. Making herself appear busy just as Doctor Martin walked in with the three Five-0 members in tow, so greeted the doctor with a sly smile.

"What are you doing here?" Doctor Martin questioned as she entered the room. "Her tests were suppose to be finished fifteen minutes ago."

"I was making my rounds when I saw her holding her hand to her neck; she must've cut herself somehow." Mel gestured to the still pale woman in the bed who now had a crimson stain slowing growing on the collar of her hospital gown.

Doctor Martin went to look at Taylor's wound for herself. "It's not that deep so no stitches. I'll finished up here. Thank you."

Melissa held the deep sigh as she nodded and left Five-0 and the doctor to their business. On her way out she gave Taylor a warning look that went unnoticed by everyone else.

"Ms. Cardoza, this is Five-0 and they'd like to ask you some questions, but only if your up to it." Doctor Martin said as she dressed Taylor's neck. "Can you tell me what your level of pain is?"

Trying to find her voice was no easy task. From not saying a word since she had blacked out in the pool to until Jesse came in only a few minutes before the doctor came in with Five-0. And the stinging on her neck from Jesse's latest gift only added to the pain level.

But, if she did talk, what would she say? She was sure that Jesse would come back and kill her for talking to Five-0 when he found out and then go back to who ever it was he worked for without a second thought. Was her safety, her life, something she wanted to risk because she was scared?

"Um, it's about a six. Mostly my head." she finally said. "I can talk to them, though."

"Okay, since it's nearly time for your next painkiller, I'll give it to you after your finished." Doctor Martin threw her gloves in the trash and headed for the door. Looking to Chin, Kono and Danny she said, "No longer than five minutes."

* * *

**Review?**


	11. Chapter 11

**Over ten thousand views, over one hundred reviews, eighty plus follows and now eleven chapters long makes this my longest and most successful story yet. Thank you.**

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Chapter 11

"Ms. Cardoza,"

"Taylor, please."

"Okay, Taylor. I'm Officer Kono Kalakaua. This is Detective Danny Williams and Lieutenant Chin Ho Kelly."

"Lieutenant Kelly?" Taylor eyed Chin as she realized the name and voice she heard before finally had a face. "You were there. The... one I talked to while I was in the pool."

"That's right." Chin smiled. "How are you feeling?"

"Uh, okay. I guess. Better than-" Taylor trailed off when she remember that she wasn't alone in the pool. The man. The cop. No one had told her how he was doing or if her was even alive. "Taylor? What's wrong?" Danny spoke up first.

"T-the man in the pool with me. The cop? Doctor Martin said you all are Five-0? Is he Five-0, too? Is he okay? No one will tell me anything. Oh, god I let him die. He's dead because of me."

"Hey, hey, he's alive because of you." Kono said in a reassuring voice.

"He...is?" the trio nodded. "And he's a cop? Like you all?"

"He's our Commander. We don't know a whole lot right now, but we'll be sure to keep you in the loop." said Danny. "Now, we'd like to ask you a few questions."

_They're all with Five-0? I'm dead. Jesse is going to kill me. _Taylor thought to herself. There had to be a way to get out of this. "O-okay. What do you want to know?"

"What's the last thing you remember?"

Truth was that the last thing she remembered, other than Jesse holding a knife against her throat, was right after her hellbent-on-killing-should-be-ex-of-a-boyfriend, slammed the butt of a gun across her head as she was leaving the diner. She didn't black out right away like Jesse thought and caught small pieces of a phone conversation he had with someone while taking her to what she assumed was the hotel.

But she couldn't tell them this. Right now she couldn't remember what it was she heard and knew that they would press her until she did.

What good would that do if she did tell them? They would get a better description of the man who kidnapped her-because she could give them a name, age, address, etc.-and go arrest him. Really, she could tell them anything and nothing at the same time.

So she decided to play it by ear. "Uh, I was walking to my car from the diner when someone came up behind and knocked me out." _Okay. Don't tell them that I heard Jesse talking on the phone._

"Do you know if the person was a man or woman?" asked Chin.

Taylor started to shake her head but soon regretted it. "It was too dark and they came up behind me. I never saw them." _There. That's not a complete lie._

"When did you wake up next?" _Tied up in Jesse's truck. _"In some small space, I think. I don't know how long I was awake for."

"And after that?" _Wow, these guys really don't leave any questions unasked. _"...in the pool, maybe. I don't know. I... I can't remember." _I can't tell you anymore!_

"Your time is up." Doctor Martin said knocking from the doorway. "Detective Williams, a word?"

"Thank you, Taylor. You've been a big help." Kono said. "We'll be in touch."

_I hope not._ On the inside, a sickening feeling overcame her as she watched Five-0 leave with her doctor following close by. Taylor knew it was only a matter of how soon Jesse could get back in her room and do more than leave a cut in her throat.

In a short hallway of Queens Hospital, Doctor Jordan Martin pulled Danny aside while Chin and Kono waited off a few meters behind them. She had good news and troubling news to tell the three members of Five-0 and knew that they needed to know right away which is why she only allowed them to question Taylor Cardoza for a few minutes.

"Detective Williams-"

"Is this about Steve? Is he going to be alri-"

"This involves Commander McGarrett and Ms. Cardoza." Doctor Martin said holding up a hand. "Regarding Commander McGarrett, the swelling in his lower spine has gone down enough to where he is beginning to get the feeling back in his legs. Now before you get too excited, it is still early. I'm going to keep an eye on him throughout the rest of this week and then we can talk about exercises and sending him home."

Danny released a breath of air he hadn't realized he was holding. "I'm guessing that that is the good news?"

"The troubling news is about Ms. Cardoza. About the cut on her neck?"

"Okay. What about it? The nurse said she must've scratched herself somehow."

"Yes, that she did. I don't know how she could make such a mistake, even small like this but that cut was from a knife." Danny's head shot up. "Are you sure, Doctor?"

"Positive. I treated a man just last week who had a small gash on his hand similar to this who cut himself while gutting fish. He told me he was using some kind of hunting knife his wife got him for his birthday." Doctor Martin looked over her shoulder to make sure no one was watching or listening to what she was about to say next. "I'm not a cop, much less a detective, but to me it looks like someone had started to slash her throat. I'm going to get some pictures taken for my records and compare it against other knife wounds I've treated. I don't know if it means anything, Detective Williams, just thought I'd let you know."

Danny was left speechless as Doctor Martin went to attend to other matters. Gathering himself, he joined Chin and Kono. "Only one of us can go in a see Steve so why don't you two go on to the diner and Taylor's house. Let me know what you find."

The look of disappointment didn't last long on the cousins faces but they knew that Danny was right. They still had a case to solve even though they wanted to check on their commander and see how he was doing for themselves.

With the intent of meeting each other soon, they said their goodbyes and headed for the exits, never seeing Nurse Raine who was hidden in a room off of where they were.

* * *

"You can't pull stunts like that anymore, JT!"

"I had it under control!"

"I could see that. Which is why I came in when I did. Five-0 was right on your heels and you'd be sitting in their jail cell if it hadn't been for me!"

"No, that bitch would be _dead _if it wasn't for you! Dammit Melissa, you let her get away from me!"

"I did not! You've allowed your revenge clouded mind to ignore the simple things like-"

"I'm at the top of my game! I'm not letting one woman get in the way of me-"

"Both of you shut up!" Ron Hawkes said forcefully. He didn't need to yell to get his pawns attention but felt that he needed to remind them who was in charge. "If either of you so much as utter a sound when I haven't spoken to you," he let his threat hang for a minute while he poured himself a strong drink. Everyone who ever worked for him knew that they were easily disposable.

"Now, Mel. What is your report from the hospital?"

"Uh, nothing you don't already know. I've been trying to stay close to that Doctor Martin chick, remember she's in charge of McGarrett and Cardoza, but she prefers to be alone most times. I did catch wind that the Commander is improving greatly. And the two cousins are following the leads to the diner and Cardoza's house." Melissa walked over to the bar, away from JT, and took a seat.

"And Jesse?" Ron asked slowly. "Care to tell me why you were at the hospital and not here?"

"I-" before Jesse could say another word, Hawkes drew the gun that was in the waist band of his pants. He aimed towards the younger man and fired, watching with intent eyes as the bullet left the gun and struck its intended target in the upper left arm.

Clutching his new wound tightly and crumbling to the ground, Jesse let out a cry of pain. If he had been paying attention, he could've seen it coming. Mel walking away, Hawkes asking a question he already knew the answer to. If Jesse was the man he claimed himself to be, the fearless, headstrong man who wanted to be Ron Hawkes right hand person over everything... he would've seen it coming.

But he didn't.

"Melissa, get over to Cardoza's house. Keep an eye on whoever they send over there." Ron then turned to a still bleeding Jesse. "And you. Get yourself cleaned up and don't show up here again unless I call you."

Jesse didn't bother to say anything. He carefully pulled himself to his feet with the aid of a chair and headed for the back exit. He could feel the two pairs of eyes watching him until he was completely out of sight and once he had closed the door behind him he began to gather himself as he walked to his car.

No one treated him like that. And anyone who dared surely wouldn't get away with it.

He would show the big shot what he could really do. And soon he would have the power he craved.

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**Review, please? They are encouraging. **


	12. Chapter 12

**I hope I did the scene with Steve and Danny justice.**

**Side note: How do you like S4 so far and what do you think of Danny's new, sleek, black Camaro? (Even though Steve is the one who drives it the most)**

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Chapter 12

Danny had been sitting in the chair beside his sleeping partners bed for twenty minutes when he muttered, "I know your awake,"

"How'd you know?" a raspy voice replied a few seconds later. Steve opened his eyes and blinked a few time to clear his vision. He tried to clear his throat as well but failed miserably as it only resulted in a coughing fit.

Danny got up as fast as he sore body would allow at the moment and handed the SEAL a glass of water which the man gladly accepted. "I didn't. I've said that every few minutes for the last fifteen minutes. Figured it would work sooner rather than later. How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine."

"No. None of that, Steven. No Tough-Guy-Super-SEAL act. Do you not remember what you've been through these past few days? Need I remind you that you're alive because the victim we went to rescue was smart enough to do what she did for however long she did?"

"Danny-"

"Don't Danny me. For once in your life be honest, admit that you're human, and tell me how you're really feeling."

Over the years of being on the Five-0 task force, Steve has heard a lot of Danny's infamous rants. But this time was different because for a second Steve thought he saw tears welling up in the detectives eyes. "I'm sorry, Danny. I'm okay right now, they got me on some pretty strong meds."

"Oh." Danny walked over to the small window and looked down at the seemingly growing masses of news reporters. They had been at that entrance since word got out of what hospital Five-0 had been taken to. "How are Chin and Kono doing?"

"Good. They're following a couple leads now, that's why they aren't here." Danny took the time to bring Steve up to date one everything they did and did not know. When he mentioned Taylor, the conversation they had with her and what Doctor Martin thought about the wound on her neck, the SEAL became more alert. "A knife wound? She's sure?"

"I asked her the same thing and she said she was positive. Why? What are you thinking?"

Steve tried to think back to the pool. There was something that Taylor told him, something that went along with her supposedly being attacked today, but he couldn't remember what it was. "I need you to call HPD and get a couple uniforms to stand guard by her door. Have Doctor Martin make a short list of doctors or nurses she trusts to take care of Ms. Cardoza. If Doctor Martin is right and someone did try to kill our victim, then they'll try again."

* * *

Jesse pulled his car to a stop and none to softly put it in park. He then walked the short distance of the driveway to the small house and entered, not bothering to knock. He knew the person was home and didn't call. "Manny, where are you?"

"Right here, dude." a shorter man came jogging down the stairs. "Next time, why don't you call. I got a beautiful woman upstairs and-shit! What happened to you?"

"Where do you keep your medical bag?" Jesse asked ignoring the question.

Manny said he'd get it and took off for a back room. When her returned, bag in hand, he quickly got to work. Cutting off fabric of Jesse's shirt away for he could get a better look at the wound. "A bullet? Really? Man who shot you?"

"It's none of your business. Just fix it."

Manny slid on a pair of latex gloves and went to get a better look after wiping some of the blood off. "It's a through and through, but I'll have to stitch it up. Here, drink this."

Jesse gladly took the offered bottle of scotch, grimacing from the pain of Manny cleaning his arm and the strength of the drink. "I was saving that for tonight so you're buying me another one or something better."

"I can to better than that," Jesse took a long swig of the scotch. "I'm about to come in possession of a half million in cash, maybe more. I figure it's the best I can do, but I need something from you."

As Manny finished the last stitch, Jesse's word echoed through his mind. It was tempting, sure, but he couldn't risk it. He was doing well, going on ten years clean and the love of his life was upstairs waiting for him. "I can't man, you know I'm not in that business anymore. I'm going to ask Kayla to marry me and I can't be a husband or be a father if I'm in prison. Again."

"No one will ever make the connection to you. All I need is a few heavy-duty weapons-"

"Is this about Taylor?" Manny put his things on the counter and leaned against it. When Jesse didn't reply right away, Manny took that as a yes. "I knew it! I told you that if I ever found out that you were planning on doing more than beat her I'd call the cops."

"It's bigger than that, bigger than her!"

"I'm not throwing away this life that I worked hard to get!" Manny stood to his feet and grabbed Jesse's injured arm-right where he had placed stitches. "Get out! And don't ever show your face here again or you'll be sorry you did."

Jesse didn't argue as he was shoved out of the house. He had what he needed; a small notepad with a list of the weapons dealers he needed. Thinking back, he was right to tell Manny that he shouldn't burn it with the rest of his work and in the end it worked out for him.

* * *

Kono pulled in front of Taylor Cardoza's home and noted that it was quite a drive from the diner where she worked, around twenty five to thirty minutes if one drove. Thinking that was slightly odd, Kono pushed the thought aside and went in the house.

The front door was unlocked and the entrance had a cozy feel to it. A soft fragrance of lemon mixed with the smell of the ocean that was less than a mile behind the house welcomed the officer as she began to look around.

Kono went into the kitchen first and glanced around before heading towards the master bedroom. The room was well kept, bed made and drapes slightly open and the adjoining bathroom was in the same condition. Kalakaua slipped on a pair of gloves before looking through the few drawers and when she didn't find anything she went to look under the bed. There, in a small black briefcase hidden behind the bed skirt, was a 9mm gun and extra mags. Kono took a few pictures with her phone and left the case where it was and went to the living room.

A mess, unlike the rest of the house, was what she saw. It looked like someone tore through the room as if they were looking for something. Picture frames were broken and books were all over the carpeted floor. The two person couch was shredded like a blade was taken to the item and the tv was shattered.

A piece of paper with a bold print caught Kono's attention. She quickly took a photo of that as well before picking it up and reading the fine print.

It was a letter from a bank in New York addressed to Taylor. Kono had only gotten through part of it when a loud crash near the bedroom. Drawing her sidearm quickly she went to see what it was when spotted someone running through the back door.

"Five-0! Freeze! she yelled but the person didn't stop.

She took off running after the person who headed for the beach, taking cover behind the fence that enclosed Taylor's backyard. Kono held her weapon at the ready and came from around the fence, scanning the area for the person. She only got a few meters when a force knocked her gun from her hands and then slammed into her stomach.

Recovering fast, Kono rolled with the force of her fall and out of the next kick that had been thrown her way. She swiped at the persons feet but they jumped out of the way. Kono was back on her feet in no time and took in the persons appearance. They were dressed in all black complete with gloves and a deep hood that hid their face.

Before Kono knew it the person was attacking again. This time they grabbed a handful of sand and threw it into the eyes of the officer before roundhouse kicking her in the side of her head.

Kono blacked out before she hit the ground.

* * *

Melissa sat in her car and dialed Ron's number. After taking care of Kono and going back inside to Taylor's house to finish what she started she was to report to Hawkes.

"Ron, I've got it."

_"All of the documents? Good, good."_

"Yeah, I got here before the cop so she interrupted me. Took care of her though." Mel paused and looked around the empty neighborhood streets. "Baby, you mind if I ask why you needed me to do this?"

If Melissa was with Hawkes, she would've seen the man cleaning one of his many sniper rifles in his personal underground weapons hold. _"I have decided that JT isn't of any use to me anymore. I suspect Five-0, now that McGarrett is on the mend, will figure out more about Ms. Cardoza. Her relationship with JT will come to light and, well, let's just say that I'll make an example out of him while he is in their possession."_

"Okay. One more thing,"

_"Yes?"_

Driving towards the soon setting sun, she asked, "Do you know when the tide rises?"

* * *

**Hope you liked it! Bonus points if you can guess what Mel did to wonder when the tide rises. *long, evil laugh***

**Review?**


	13. Chapter 13

**Yeah for more action!**

**How many of you did not watch H50 last night?**

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Chapter 13

Chin walked into Century Diner and asked the first employee he saw for the manager. He was then led to a front office and an older man stood up from his desk chair to greet him. After exchanging pleasantries, Chin took a seat.

"Mister Lao, thanks for taking the time to meet with me."

"It's not a problem, Lieutenant Kelly. After I heard what happened to Taylor, I wanted to help in any way I could."

"What can you tell me about Taylor?" Chin started from the beginning, wanting to match what they already knew about Taylor to what the people she worked with knew. And maybe more since Five-0 didn't have much to go on right now.

Kevin Lao sighed and walked over to a small file cabinet. "I'm afraid I don't know much about her. This is all I have." Lao handed Chin a thin manila folder. "That's mostly her contact information and other need-to-knows before I hire someone. She never talked about her life and is a bit of a loner compared to my other employees."

"What about friends? Do you know if she's in a relationship?" Chin scanned the files he was given and found nothing of use.

"No friends, I'd say. She just comes to work, does her job and then leaves at the end of her shift. More times than not she asks to work doubles." Kevin paused for a moment before speaking up again, having remembered something. "Come to think of it, I'm quite sure she has a boyfriend." Chin didn't miss the sound of hate in the other mans voice.

"Why do you say it like that?"

"Listen, Lieutenant, I grew up in an abusive home. My old man beat the living crap outta me and sometimes had my older brother do the same; said he was building men from it all. I didn't want to get involved, but some nights, Tay would come in late with bruises on her face.

"I'd ask about them but she would brush me off. But early last month I kicked a young man out of here for getting rough with her; she wouldn't say so but I could tell they knew each other."

Chin thought back to what Doctor Martin said about how the abuse Taylor had endured could have been relationship related. "Did you happen to catch a name?"

Kevin shook his head. "Sorry, no name. However, I did get him on my security video. Got a good shot of his face too." Lao went over to his computer and pulled up a file of photos for Chin to look at.

"That's him?"

"Yeah. I wanted to remember his face just in case he tried to get in my diner again. You can have this and the video if you need it."

"Mahalo, Lao." When Chin left the diner he sent Kono a text to meet him a headquarters when she was finished at Taylor's. Once there, he uploaded the images to the smart table and ran the mystery man's face through facial rec.

Thirty minutes went by and Chin still hadn't heard from his cousin so he decided to check in on Danny and Steve. "Danny, it's Chin."

_"Hey, what've you got?"_

"I spoke with the manager at the diner where Taylor works. He couldn't give me anything to go with about her other than that she was a loner and a hard worker."

_"No friends?"_

"No. He did suspect that she was in an abusive relationship with a young man; I'm running his face now through the system."

Chin thought he heard Steve telling Danny something in the background but didn't ask what it was. _"Okay. When your done there, come back to the hospital. I want to ask Taylor is she knows who that man is."_

"You got it." sending a clearer picture of the man to his phone, Chin checked his watch and noted that forty minutes had gone by with no news from Kono. "Hey, Danny, have you heard from Kono?"

_"Not since before she left to check_ _out our victims place. Why?"_

Chin was starting to get worried. He knew that Kono was capable of taking care of herself, but didn't like that fact that she hadn't contacted him in over an hour since they last talked. It wasn't like her. "She was supposed to meet me back at HQ when she was finished at the house."

_"Send me the photo of the diner guy and then head over to check on Kono. Keep in touch." _Chin was already out the front doors of HQ and pulling out his keys to his bike. "Alright. You too." After sending the photos to Danny, Chin was on his way to the Taylor Cardoza's house.

Nearly ten minutes in, Kelly noticed a black SUV following three cars behind him. He was positive that they had been on his tail since he left HPD but didn't think much of it until now. To prove his suspicions, Chin took a sharp right into a neighborhood that led straight to the highway. The SUV stayed on him, showing signs of aggression as they pressed on the gas and quickly shortened the distance between them and Chin.

A quick glance over his shoulder was enough to spot the handgun sticking out of the driver's side window and Chin pushed his bike to go faster, taking a left deeper into the neighborhood and away from the highway.

He saw that the SUV was now backing off when he looked over his shoulder again but by doing that he wasn't aware of a second vehicle, a large unmarked moving van, coming at him from the side.

Chin pulled hard on the brakes and tried to swerve out of the way in time but the speed he was going and the length of the van proved to be to great to overcome. He instead spun out of control when his back wheel clipped the fender of the van that was in the middle of the street.

By the time he and his bike came to rest a few meters, Chin's body had stopped moving.

* * *

After relaying the conversation he had with Chin, Danny headed towards Taylor's room leaving Steve alone. The SEAL had been making great strides with the movements he made with his legs and the doctors called it nothing short of a miracle. Still, he was stuck in bed for the next day or two while Doctor Martin continued to watch him.

Steve had been reading some case files one of the uniforms brought for the past few minutes while Danny was gone. When his cell rang with the caller ID reading 'blocked' again, he didn't wait to answer it.

_"McGarrett, it's good to see that you are feeling better." _Ron Hawkes said.

Steve looked around the room and saw that he was alone. "What do you want, Hawkes?"

_"I want a lot of things, Commander. But nothing more than the title of the one who took down the entire Five-0 task force." _Ron laughed dryly but Steve didn't pay attention to that. He needed to get Danny back in there but before he could flag a nurse down, Hawkes said, _"Don't bother trying to call Detective Williams, Steve. He's busy."_

Steve sat up straighter when he heard the joy in Ron's voice. "If you hurt him you sorry sonofa-"

_"Now is not the time for threats, Commander."_ Ron paused and Steve waited but the line went dead. Steve pulled the phone away from his ear and while he was looking down, Nurse Raine walked in carrying a tray of something he couldn't make out. And behind her in walked Ron Hawkes himself. "I make the threats. Or, promises, in my case."

Steve was wondering what was taking Danny so long. From what he heard from nurses, Taylor's room wasn't too far from his. "What did you do to my team?"

"Nothing as of right now. They're just a bit tied up at the moment." Ron motioned to Nurse Raine who pulled off her wig and glasses. "Mel, would you be a dear and pull up the feed?"

Melissa brought up three different feeds on a laptop that was on the tray and turned the screen so Steve could see it. On it he saw Danny and Chin and Kono, all tied up in what looked to be very different locations.

"Here's how this is going to work. You come with me, willingly, and I let your team go. No harm will come to them." Ron pointed to the screen as he talked. "But if you refuse, they all die. Along with this lovely lady."

For a second Steve wondered who he was talking about, but when two large men came into view with a clearly terrified Taylor in between them he understood. She was sporting a deep bruise around her left eye and a cut on her lower lip that was slowly bleeding.

Ron walked in front of Steve's bed, fingering the butt of his gun all along. "So what'll it be, Commander? The blood of four people on your hands, or just your own?"

* * *

**Have any of you heard that Hawaii Five-0 is making an episode that fans help create? :O ...if only it was a 'submit your story for a chance for it to be made in to an episode'  
**

**Review?**


	14. Chapter 14

**I started school this week so updates will be on weekends.**

**My apologizes for not responding to any of your reviews. This is kind of a filler with a few questions answered along the way.**

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Chapter 14

He awoke slowly, being drawn from unconsciousness by the sound of voices speaking lowly, footsteps on the ground and items rustling as he became more aware of his surroundings.

He could feel metal bars of some kind against his wrists but only barely as his while body held a numbness that was too great to completely ignore. Even with his mind drowning in a clouded haze Steve was aware of a person looming in front of him.

"Hello, Commander." Ron said. He stood tall and sure, the pride clear on his face as he was thoroughly enjoying this moment. "Nice of you to join me. Although I was beginning to worry when it took you as long as it did."

Steve blinked his eyes once. _What happened?_

Twice. _Where am I?_

Three times before Hawkes' form became more clear. "I can only assume that you are wondering how long it's been since I visited you in Queens. Just a day. But a lot has happened in that day, Commander. And I'm sure you want to be filled in."

Ron turned to a table behind him and brought over a tablet, using his finders to swipe across is until he found what he wanted. "As I promised, you're teammates, you're _Ohana_, were unharmed. At least no more than the cuts or bruises that came in a fight with my men. And I even had them all dropped off at the hospital so they could get checked out themselves. Now, I must say that Detective Williams proved to be the toughest to apprehend. It took four of my men to take him down." Ron shook his head as if amused.

"And to prove it to you, I've brought proof." Ron pressed play on the tablet and a live video feed came up. Steve could see Chin and Danny and Kono all standing the smart table in HQ, mostly unharmed like Hawkes said. He didn't have time to wonder how he was getting the feed.

"What do you want?" Steve managed to say after a pause. Even with his throat as dry as it was he still needed to get answers from this man.

"To watch Five-0 crumble. To see the looks on your faces as I break you all down til you have nothing. Til you are nothing." Ron sat the tablet down and motioned to the four armed guards in the room to leave.

"If you want that...then why did you let my team go?"

"Because you, Lieutenant Commander Steve McGarrett, are Five-0. You are what makes the governors task force tick. The others, they're nothing but fillers. A detective who only came to the island because of his daughter and a pair of cousins who both had troublesome run ins with HPD. Then there's you, a Navy SEAL. A man, who has had his own bouts with the law, still manages to, I don't know, be the good guy. Be the one people would trust with their very life." when Hawkes turned his back to him Steve took the opportunity to check his surroundings again.

The first thing he noticed was that he was tied to a metal chair that was bolted to the floor with thick rope around both wrists and ankles. He was dressed in only a pair of pants which was one reason to why he was beginning to shiver. The large area he was being held in reminded him of a parking garage, except the entire space was closed in. There was only one sliding door that he could see and no windows.

And to make things worse he couldn't hear anything either. Not a single sound but that of his own breathing and Ron across the room.

The walkie on the table cracked to life but Steve couldn't make out what was said. Ron, however, answered with an affirmative and seconds later a young man walked in. Steve had never seen him before and he wondered what his purpose there was.

"Jesse, I know I told you not to show up in my sight again so give me one reason to not kill you right now." Ron said. Steve watched as the young man, Jesse, answered in an even voice. "I came to collect. I know you have her."

"Yes, I do. But what makes you think I'll just hand her over?"

"Because she still has what I need. I'd offer you something but I see you already have what you need." Jesse took a few steps closer to Hawkes to test and see where he stood. When he didn't get shot right away he went on. "Give me another chance with her. I can prove to you that I can do this; all I need is her to sigh those papers and I-"

"Enough!" dragging a hand over the stubble on his face, Ron sighed. He didn't trust JT with such a task and therefore came up with a better alternative "I'll take care of her. My men informed me that they found a stash of weapons in your car when they brought you in, so you fit them with what they need and I'll get you those papers."

"But-"

"Leave."

Jesse was defeated. The weight of the small six shot hand gun felt like a ton of led in the back of his pants. He wanted to be the last thing Taylor saw before she died. He wanted to watch her life fade knowing that he was the cause of it, but instead Ron is taking his place.

What could he do about it? He figured that the only way to gain Hawkes' trust was to do what he said with no questions. If he wanted to be the one to get the papers signed, fine.

But nothing was going to stop him from killing Taylor.

Once Jesse had left, Ron turned back to Steve who had been pulling as hard as he could against the restraints that bound his wrists. However, his efforts were still weak as his body wasn't completely healed from his previous injuries.

"I apologize for that stunt, Commander. JT, he can be a bit headstrong when it comes to things he sets his mind to." the only table in the room was too far away to make out what anything on it was and when Ron returned with a vial that held a clear liquid. "This is just a sedative. I can't have you escaping now."

Taking a syringe and drawing the liquid from the glass bottle appeared to be happening slower than it actually was and Steve could do nothing but watch as the needle entered his arm.

* * *

The force of something strong, he was unsure what, was what brought Steve back from unconsciousness. His eyes shot open just in time to see a fist headed straight for his abdomen, causing him to cough repeatedly once the onslaught had ended.

He could feel that his body was in a different position than when he first woke up, with the ropes around his wrists that were now hanging above his head from the ceiling. Steve felt the cold, wet concrete floor beneath his bare feet and took this as a good sigh. Not only was he able to move his legs more but the fact that only his arms are bound was sure to give him an advantage over any one who came in.

What the SEAL wasn't expecting when he looked around was the white dot in front of him. He figured that Hawkes was in another room watching his every move, but the other man soon came into view.

"Enough talk, Commander." Ron stepped into Steve's line of view, twirling a knife in his hand. The criminal looked different; his face was harder, more determined and his eyes were as black as night. "Let's begin."

Then the white light turned red.

* * *

"What do you mean you don't have security feeds to that floor? How could you not-" Danny sighed as he paced back and forth inside HQ with a phone to his ear. A lot had happened in nearly eighteen hours: their kidnappings and puzzling returns. Steve and Taylor missing from the hospital. More unanswered questions piling up and still no explanations.

"When was this?" at the sound of the frustration in the detectives voice, Chin and Kono stopped what they were doing around the smart table and waited for Danny to finished his call.

"Okay." after he hung up, Danny noticed two pairs of eyes staring at him. Kono was sporting wet hair and her usual attire while Chin was nursing cuts on his face and bruised ribs.

"That was one of the head nurses. Apparently all of the cameras on the floor Steve and Taylor were on had been disconnected from the power, as well as the cameras in the stairwells, elevators and all exits."

"So where does that leave us?"

"I'm going to head to the hospital and see if Charlie has found anything of use in their rooms. Maybe Steve left a clue for us." said Danny. "You two stay here in case-"

"Uh, Detective Williams?" a voice said. Danny turned to face a delivery man who couldn't have been more than seventeen and an HPD officer. "Amanwithaguncameuptomeandtoldmetogiveyouthispacka gerightaway-"

"Whoa, kid slow down." Danny motioned the kid to come over and take a seat. Chin and Kono came closer to hear what the young man had to say.

He was shaking considerably and the small sized brown envelope in his hands was beginning to crumble from his hands clenching tighter. "What's your name?"

"C-Cody,"

"Alright, Cody. Tell me what happened, slowly."

"I was making my routes and a-a man, he had a gun, he came up to me and told me to give this to Five-0." Cody carefully handed the package over as if he was afraid that is would explode. Chin took the item and headed back to the smart table with Kono while Danny tried to calm the kid down.

"Did you get a good look at this man?" Cody barely managed a nod. "Okay, this officer is going to take you to a sketch artist and you can call who ever you need to. You did good, kid."

"Danny, you need to see this."

* * *

**I already know how I going to end this, just not sure how many more chapters. Regardless, do you have any theories? If so, I'd love to hear them!**

**And please review.  
**


	15. Chapter 15

**Did you watch last nights H50? I'd say it was one of the better episodes so far.**

***SPOILER ALERT* RIP Billy.**

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Chapter 15

"The package only held a flash drive. This was on it." Chin made a few keystrokes before pulling a video up onto a bigger screen. The trio watched as the video began to play, showing them an image that they didn't want to believe to be true.

The video showed Steve hanging from a ceiling by his arms in the background of a darkened room, with his head hanging low enough for his chin to touch his chest. They could see that his torso was showing deep bruises and blood was seeping from different wounds.

And that his chest was still raising and falling, albeit too slow for anyone's liking.

Only a few seconds had passed before a voice came over the audio and Danny's face turned cold as he recognized it right away to be Hawkes.

_"I hope you all are enjoying the view because this will be the last time you see your commander. You should also know that Steve McGarrett surrendered willingly to save the lives of his Ohana_,_ but by doing so he wasn't able to keep Miss. Cardoza out of harms way. I'm leaving that up to you."_

They watched the camera pan from Steve to just the right of the SEAL where they saw Taylor standing in front of Ron, bound and gagged, with a gun pressed against her head. _"You see, Miss. Cardoza recently came in possession of a lot of money from her foster mother: eighty-seven point four million dollars to be exact. Let me tell you the real reason why I tell you this._

_"You're going to help me do something and you only have one choice; come to the address attached to this video and directly escort Miss. Cardoza to get the money from the bank. Fail to do so within the next two hours and I'll send pieces of this young woman straight to Five-0 every hour on the hour until you do. Don't try anything. I'm watching you._

_"The clock is ticking."_

The video feed went blank and the trio all let out a collected release of breathe they hadn't realized they were holding_._

"Sonofabitch."

"I don't know what I can scrape from the video. There appears to be no audio other than Hawkes talking and the background to too dark to make anything out." Chin observed with a sigh. "But at least they're alive."

"Yeah, and how long is that going to last?" Danny's irritated voiced the concerns of what they were thinking. "We can't go on a psycho's word for anything. And what papers is he talking about?"

"These." Kono sent the pictures from her phone to the smart table, thankful that who ever attacked her didn't have the mind to look for and then delete them. "When I was at Taylor's house these papers stood out in the middle of a ransacked room. I didn't get to read them but if we clear up the image,"

"Okay, Hawkes was telling the truth about the money. But how did he know about it?" Danny question after reading the bank notice.

"From this guy, could possibly be Taylor's boyfriend." Chin brought up a picture of a young man. "His name is Jesse Thomas. He's been in and out of jail on drug possession and weapons smuggling mostly around the East side of the Island. Says here that Taylor tried to get restraining orders against him three different times but withdrew them each a day or two later."

"Doctor Martin said that a good number of Taylor's previous injuries could be from an abusive relationship. Find this guy and keep me updated."

Danny pulled his phone out and sent Chin and Kono a text message. _"If Hawkes is listening/watching don't say anything that'll tip him off. We need a plan and fast."_ After a quick affirmative from both cousins, Williams headed to his car.

The drive to the scene of the latest crime was short as Danny walked the halls of Queens Hospital with sheer determination in his step. He didn't stop until he got to the room Taylor was in and found Charlie working. "Tell me you've got good news."

"Good and bad news actually." Charlie said walking over to the detective. "The bad news is I got the results back from the bomb that was recovered at the hotel. I couldn't find a single hair, skin cell, dirt or speck of grime on the device. It's like whoever made it was in a very clean environment."

"And the good news?"

"You're victim Taylor put up a hell of a fight against whoever tried to take her. So far I've found two different blood samples on the bedsheets and door frame and, as you can see, this room is pretty wrecked." Charlie smiled as he spoke while pointing towards a broken picture. "I'll send these blood samples back to the lab."

"Alright. Did you find anything in Steve's room?"

"No, sorry. Just fingerprints and chances are they're from the nurses and doctors."

Danny nodded. The clock in the hallway showed him that they had just over ninety minutes to get to the address Hawkes' gave them. Which meant that they had less than ninety minutes to come up with a plan. "Do me a favor and send those prints to the lab anyway."

"Mind me asking what you're thinking, Detective?"

"Just following my gut." as Danny left the hospital he couldn't help but smile to himself at the thought of following that feeling in his gut. Steve would surely have made a comment, if he was there, about how after all the years of being partnered together he was rubbing off on the Jersey native.

"Just hold on a little longer, Steve. We're coming."

* * *

"Wake up!"

Taylor jerked awake as rough hands grabbed the front of her shirt. Instinctively she tried to crawl away the the person was too strong. "None of that now, Taylor. Stop it! Come here!"

"Get off of me! Let go!" Taylor shoved Jesse away best she could with her bound hands but was only welcomed with a slap to the face. She wanted to cry out as the pain grew but refused to give into what Jesse wanted.

"You're more feisty than I remember. Must've been the near death experience and all." Jesse taunted as he untied the rope around her wrists. He stood back and looked down at the person who caused him so much trouble. "Get dressed,"

Taylor looked at the tank top, pair of jeans and shoes that was thrown at her feet then back up at Jesse with a blank expression on her face. "I said," Jesse pulled the small gun from his pants and removed the safety. "Get. Dressed."

Standing up was a small challenge. Her legs were shaky from being in one position for an unknown amount of time and she had to use the wall behind her as an aid. Taylor knew that she wasn't going to get him to leave the room so she could change, which wasn't part of her still forming plan, but decided to go along with it.

Sliding off the hospital scrub pants first she kept her eyes down in an attempt to ignore the way the man was looking at her while using the scrub shirt to cover what she didn't want him to see. When she was pulling the tank top over her head she didn't see Jesse come and pull her close to him.

"I missed seeing you like this." he whispered. Jesse moved in for a kiss but Taylor was prepared for this and swiftly kicked him in his unprotected crotch. Jesse grunted in pain but wasted no time in backhanded her so hard she fell to the cold floor. "You little bitch!" JT grabbed her shoulders and punched her in her stomach.

"Stop! No, stop! S-stop it!"

"You want to play games? Huh!" he punched her again. "I can play games, Tay."

"What do you think you're doing!" a voice suddenly said. Jesse looked over his shoulder and saw the face one of Hawkes top guards. "Boss said not to lay a hand on 'er."

"I was putting her back in place, not that it's any of your business."

"It is my business when it goes against the Bosses direct orders." the guard looked at Taylor who was holding her sides. "Go get the car ready,"

"You don't tell me-"

"Go." the guard left no room for argument and Jesse reluctantly left with a scowl on his face.

When JT was gone the guard led Taylor down three hallways to another room with a firm grip on her arm. She made sure to note the direction they were going and to look for any doors or windows, too. Before they even got to the room the woman could hear flesh hitting flesh.

The guard pulled her through a doorway and she couldn't keep from gasping aloud.

The Five-0 commander, Steve was it?, was hanging from the ceiling with his wrists bounds. He was bleeding from multiple wounds on his face and torso but that didn't stop the man causing the beating from stopping.

"Ah, our guest has arrive, Commander." the man said as he wiped his blood covered hands on a towel. "Miss Cardoza, please excuse the mess. I was just explaining to Steve what happens when a person gets on my bad side."

Taylor was frozen. She couldn't take her eyes off of the man who looked so weak but so strong at the same time. The sight of the crimson blood and the strong smell of copper was enough to turn her empty stomach.

"Are you ready to go? We have quite a bit of money to go collect."

"I'm not going anywhere with you,"

"Oh, but you are." Ron walked over to Taylor and grabbed her neck in his strong hand. "You see, the bank won't give the money to anyone but you."

"And they won't give me the money unless I sign those damn papers! Which. I'm. Not." Taylor said through clenched teeth confidently. She realizing that these people, whoever they were, would kill her regardless if she helped them or not.

"I've taken care of that, my dear. The wonders of technology these days is simply amazing because all I had to do was copy something you already signed and place it on the correct papers." Ron squeezed Taylor's neck tighter causing her to gag.

Just as the black spots began to take over her vision Taylor felt the man release her and she crumbled to the ground.

While fighting to steady her breathing, Taylor missed the exit of her captors. The room she was in was suddenly silent.

Getting to her feet, Taylor stumbled over to Steve and stretched to reach his neck. Using two fingers she felt for a pulse and held her breath until she found it. He was unconscious, but alive.

Next she walked over to the only table in the room in hopes of finding something to use as a weapon of defense but came up empty. Whatever had been on the table was nowhere to be found.

Then she went over to the walls unsure of what to look for. Maybe a hidden door or window, something, anything to use to escape.

"Dammit!" Taylor yelled as she leaned against the wall. She wanted to cry badly but couldn't get her body to produce tears, so she slid down the wall until her arm dug into something sharp. Cardoza moved her hand across her arm until she felt a wet stickiness on her fingers.

Taylor used her hands to feel along the wall until she found what felt like a piece of sharp concrete. She used her foot to loosen the rock and then pulled the rest of it out with her hands. Once it was free she felt it's short length and sharpness in her hands and realized it was probably they're best chance of surviving. It was small, palm size, and sharp enough to use like a dagger.

Moving back over to Steve, she said in a low whisper, "Okay, um, I don't know if you can her me but-"

Taylor was cut off by the sound of men talking and knew that her chance was slipping away. "Steve, wake up!" she urged the SEAL by gently tapping his face. "Please wake up! Steve?"

"Taylor..." she heard the man mumble. Right away she saw Steve's face twist in agony as he became more aware of the pain his body was in and prayed that her what she had planned wouldn't lead to his death.

"That man, he's coming back. I don't have much time but they're coming back for me. Use this," Taylor moved the table closer to Steve, thankful that it wasn't bolted to the floor like the chair, and climbed on top of it. She had just placed the sharp concrete piece into the commander's hands when the only door to the room slammed opened.

"Get her!"

* * *

**Uh oh. **

**Review?**


	16. Chapter 16

**Happy November! Enjoy this next chapter!**

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Chapter 16

_Oh, shit!_

"Get her!"

Suddenly everything happened at once.

A gun went off in rapid session and Taylor didn't know how many shots were fired. She felt a burning pain engulf her arm at the same time as she was knocked off of the table by one of the guards. A cry of agony left her lips right before a hand was placed over her mouth.

"You idiot!" Ron gasped as he grabbed JT and pushed him against the wall. He knocked the smoking gun from the younger man's hand and tightened his hold soon after. "What have you done? I needed her alive, you bastard!"

"Boss, she's breathing, but losing a lot of blood." the guard that knocked her over said as he looked at the wound and the growing puddle of blood.

"See. She's still alive. With her bleeding out Five-0 has no choice but to meet the demands faster." Jesse's voice was dripping with joy as her looked over Hawkes' shoulder at the still body of Taylor. "They won't have time to put a plan into motion, now."

"Yet with her bleeding out they could easily choose to get her to a hospital rather than do what I said!" he threw Jesse to the floor and motioned for two more guards to grab him. "Take him to the Hold."

Ron stalked over to where Steve was watching the entire scene with wide, unfocused eyes and grabbed his face in his hand. "You see what happens what people try to play hero? You have her blood on your hands, Commander. This is your fault!"

"What are we going to do, Boss?"

Ron wasn't going to left the mistakes of one incompetent man ruin his plans that he worked too hard and too long on. He could use this to his advantage and knew exactly how to do just that. "Get her to the car and grab the phone. Send the message to Detective Williams; this happens now."

Watching the men leave with Taylor was hard and Steve was willing to admit it if asked, but at least she was going to be safer with his team. He gripped the sharp piece of concrete that Taylor managed to give him right before things with further south and slowly begin to saw at the ropes while Ron had his back to him.

It was slow going. Steve had to stop repeatedly whenever Ron turned his way and felt as though he wasn't making any progress. He could barely make out the give in the rope and knew he had to buy himself time he likely didn't have if Hawkes had everything to do with it.

* * *

"Are you sure this is going to work?"

"No. This is still experimental and could easily fail."

"But it's our only shot. We have to take it."

"Kono is right. We've got very little to go on and this is our best chance at finding them."

"But it could also get them killed."

The trio was currently huddled around Danny's car with a blueprints of the bank resting on the hood. Kono was holding a small bar like item in her hands that was fitted with a tracking device while Danny had a remote in his pocket.

Their plan, thrown together quickly, was simple. Danny was to pick up Taylor from a set area before taking her directly to the bank where Kono would be waiting and he would walk her into the bank, directly to the manager's office.

"Per bank policy, and by order of the Governor, the bank manager will take Taylor to a back room where she will turn over the papers and the money with be handed over. This is where we need to move fast," Danny pointed to a back door that led to an alley and corner store. "Kono will insert this tracking device into a hidden compartment within the bag and make her may over to this store where Chin will be waiting with a car. The two of you will wait until the tracker goes live after I take the money to the drop off point before you follow them. Taylor will be next to me so our top priority is making sure she stays safe while we make the drop.

"We can't trust these guys so be ready for anything." Danny finished and thought about how risky it was to do this with a civilian within the line of fire but they had no choice.

Danny's phone rang as he was rolling the plans up. "Is it them?" asked Kono.

"Why are they calling? We still have forty minutes,"

Danny held up his hand and answered on the second ring. "Williams,"

_"Turn around." _then the line went dead. Detective Williams turned around just as an unmarked van with windows heavily tinted sped in front of headquarters. Not slowing down, the side door slid opened and a masked man pushed a figure out into the busy street.

Taking off with Chin and Kono on his heels, Danny first stopped the traffic that was headed their way before seeing about the woman. "Help me get her off the street." Williams and Kelly carefully carried the woman until they were on the sidewalk.

"Danny," Chin pointed towards the wound on her arm where blood was seeping through the crudely bandaged area.

"Dammit, it's Taylor." Danny said once her got a clearer look at her face. "Kono get the first-aid get out of my trunk and a bottle of water."

"Got it,"

"We need to stop the bleeding. Shit, it looks like the bullet nicked an artery."

"Wha-" Taylor began to stir as Chin put pressure on her arm to stop the bleeding.

"Taylor, stay calm. Your safe now." Danny grabbed a roll of gauze and gave it to Chin. His phone rang again and he wanted to do anything but answer it. On the fourth ring he did.

_"You are slacking, Detective. I'm disappointed."_

"Well, my hands are a bit busy at the moment thanks to your men." Danny couldn't hide the frustration that was in his voice. Every second he spent talking to this man, the more he wanted him dead.

_"The woman was trying to save your commander. Stupidity is what led to her current situation, not me. And her efforts, you should know, did the commander no good. I'd be surprised if he lives to see the next sunrise._

_"And she doesn't have that much time, either. Her life is in your hands, Detective." _Danny shoved his phone back into his pocket when Hawkes hung up and swore.

"You need a hospital, Taylor!"

"And you need to save Steve! But you can't do that without me-"

"We can find another way-"

"No you won't! This guy is crazy! If I don't show up with the money in one hour he's dead." Taylor began to stand to her feet but swayed when her vision blurred. Catching her before she could fall, Danny said, "Taylor, your burning up and that is a clear sigh of an infection setting in. You've already lost a lot of blood and if Steve was here-"

"But he's not. Listen, Detective," she took a deep breath in an attempt to clear her hazy head. "I wasn't going to let him die in that pool even though he wanted me to and I'm not going to let that psycho kill him either. Please, help me save him."

Danny realized Taylor had a point. If, no, when they got Steve back he was sure that he would hear a speech about making sure the civilian is safe from the SEAL. And he would welcome it if it meant that his partner was out of harms way.

"Okay. New plan."

* * *

Steve couldn't hold back the cry of pure agony as the electricity coursed through his body. The puddle of water his bare feet stood in aided the effects and made the experience that much worse but he had the mind to keep his fist clenched so he wouldn't drop the only key to having a fighting chance.

In between Ron stopping the charges and taunting the weakened SEAL, Steve used his dwindling strength to saw at the last remaining strings of ropes. With his fingers he could tell that only a couple mores strands was what was holding him up but knew he had to wait until the right moment to have the best chance.

As Hawkes pressed the button yet again, causing stronger volts of electricity to run through Steve McGarrett's body, the SEAL couldn't help but wonder if he would last that long.

* * *

**Please leave a review with your thoughts. We're so close to 200!**

**Did you dress up for Halloween?**


	17. Chapter 17

**I had a bit of a rough couple of weeks so I took it out on Steve and Taylor.**

**It looks like there is only one more chapter after this. :)**

Chapter 17

Danny sped down the Hawaiian dirt roads and spared the occasional glance at Taylor who was in the passenger seat of the Camaro. He heard the tires gripping the ground as he made another sharp turn towards a location that was sent to his phone.

"We're almost there. Are you sure you don't-"

"Detective, you talk a lot." Taylor was tired. Maybe it was the blood loss or the adrenaline her body had continuously pumped through her veins but the fact remained that she could hardly keep her eyes open. "I'm fine."

"You don't have to be here."

"Yes, I do. If they don't see me then they'll know something was up." pushing herself up more in the seat was a small challenge as they came up on a small clearing near a hiking trail. Taylor recognized the area right away as one she ran often when she first arrived on the Island.

"Okay. I'm clearly not going to get you to change your mind so, just, stay behind me."

"I can do that." she sighed. "If it makes you feel better, I'll gladly go to a hospital after this."

Danny let the Camaro roll to a stop as soon as a black van came into view. Four men, dressed in black from head to toe, stood armed as they waited for the car to stop.

"Get out of the car!" one of the men yelled as he aimed his semi automatic towards the drivers side of the car. Danny sent a reassuring look towards Taylor who followed his lead and slowly got out of the car. "Put your hands on your head! Throw your gun over!"

"Where's the money?"

"Easy, we have it." Danny said is an easy voice as he reluctantly tossed his SIG over to the men. He didn't want to give these men a reason to shoot them right on the spot. ""It's all in the trunk, just like you want."

"Okay, okay bring it over!"

"All right. I'm going to go get it-"

"No. Not you, Detective. Her," Danny froze. The men motioned for Taylor to go to the trunk and retrieve the money but when she didn't make a move he cocked his weapon and pointed it right at her.

Danny knew this wasn't the plan, he was suppose to hand over the money, not Taylor. They hadn't had time to account for this possibility so he could only hope that Chin and Kono made the necessary adjustments from where they were.

"Move! I'm not gonna tell you again!"

"It's okay, Taylor. Go ahead."

Knowing that the two cousins, Chin and Kono, were somewhere nearby waiting for the right moment to make they're move, Taylor made her way to the back of the Camaro.

She lifted the trunk door and pulled out two duffel bags, wincing at the pull in her arm. Gritting her teeth, she walked the ten or so meters to the men and dropped the bags at their feet. She did this two more times where in the end there were six bags total.

"All right, boys! Load 'em up!" the leader said before turning to Taylor and grabbing her arm. "You too, babe."

"No! No, stop!"

"Wait, what? No-" Danny made a move towards the man holding Taylor but quickly rerouted his course when the man's gun was pointed right at him. After jumping behind the closest thing he could use as cover, Danny pulled out the small gun from his ankle holster and fired two shots at the men loading the bags into the van.

"You're making a big mistake here!" Danny called out from behind the tree.

"I don't think I am!" the man laughed. "You just don't get it! Boss only wanted the money, but there is another man who is dying to see this chick dead."

"Dammit," cursing at the fact that these men were taking Taylor back to her ex, Danny said. "You don't have to do this! Turn yourselves in now and we might be able to work a deal!"

"Pass! I'm getting a huge paycheck after this!" Danny heard three doors slam and an engine roar to life before the van flew down the road.

Watching helplessly was hard, but he knew it wasn't in vain. "Danny! You okay, bruh?" he heard Kono asked once the van was out of sight.

"Did you get it?"

"Yeah. Didn't have as much time as we would have liked but we got it." Kono went over to the Camaro and pulled out a tablet. "The tracker it strong,"

"How long until we can get HPD out here?"

"They are on standby, waiting for our call." Chin said. "You know this isn't your fault, right?"

Danny opened his mouth to reply but shook his head and went back to his car. "Call them. Let's go get this bastard."

* * *

Ron Hawkes stood over his desk as he waited for his men to arrive. Dried blood stained his clothes and arms, a look of disgust evident on his face at the thought of having to wait longer for deliver his final strike.

When he heard footsteps behind him, he cleared his throat and questioned, "Well?"

"They did as you asked, Boss. All the money is being unloaded as we speak."

"And Five-0?"

"We lost 'em. They won't be able to find us."

Smiling to himself, Ron waved the man away as he took a long drink from a bottle on his desk. He left to see the haul he acquired in the front room, eager to see the money for himself.

Once there, he saw six unopened duffel bags sitting on a table that was surrounded by the men who did the job. "Why is she here?" he asked roughly when he saw Taylor standing in between two of the men. While her skin was pale her face remained strong as she waited for the inevitable to come.

"Just leverage, Boss. The detective wouldn't have tried anything as long as she was with us."

"We don't need her anymore. Get rid of her." Ron went over to the table and opened the first bag and was welcomed with the sight of wrapped white strips of paper. "What the hell is this?!"he yelled as he grabbed a handful of paper and threw it at his men. He went through the other bags and came away with the same result. "You said they had the money! This isn't money!"

"The detective said-"

"Did you think to check!?"

"I-"

Suddenly a crashed echoed throughout the room as a wall collapsed underneath the force of a speeding Camaro. In seconds Danny was out of the car, weapon held high. "Five-0! Freeze!"

As a response gunfire ensued and Danny took confer before returning fire. He knew Chin and Kono were coming in from the only other able entrance and HPD was working on surrounding the rest of the area.

"It's over Hawkes! Come out now while you have a chance!" said Danny he could see Ron backing towards a hallway with Taylor in front of him. "This is your only warning! There's no way out of this! Give up!"

Ron fired three shots towards the camaro before shoving Taylor into the wall and running down the hallway. Danny took off after him, just as HPD ran in to apprehend Hawkes' men who either gave up or were wounded.

His only chance was slipping away from him. He couldn't wait any longer so today, right now, was the day Steve McGarrett died.

But when Ron burst into the room his captive was being held he was met with the sight of a broken rope still swinging back and forth from the ceiling. He was too caught up in the image that he didn't see Steve come up behind him. The SEAL punched the man in his ribs and kicked the back of his knees but Ron recovered quickly, moving with the momentum and rolling just out of Steve's reach.

"You can't keep this up, Steve. You're going to lose."

"Maybe." Steve panted. "But as long as you can't ruin anymore lives, that's fine with me."

"I don't need to ruin more lives. I just want to end yours!" Ron was attacking again, using his speed and Steve's weakness against the SEAL at the same time. He kicked Steve in the abdomen and threw a punch towards his face but it was dodged. Steve countered with a jab of his own that was blocked. Ron kicked him and he stumbled backwards out of breath and wincing from the pain.

Pulling out a gun from his pants, Ron pointed it straight at the SEAL's heart. "It's been a pleasure, Commander." Ron pulled the trigger three times before he heard someone coming towards him. He had enough time to watch Steve fall to the floor, blood pooling from his chest.

Getting closer he whispered, "I'll see you at your funeral."

He was gone before Danny Williams got there.

**Please don't kill me! *hides behind desk* I still have to write the end!**

**My birthday is on the 10th so I'd love to get a review from you all with your thoughts! :)**


	18. Chapter 18

**You guys are so awesome! I can't thank you enough for the response that the last chapter got and for that here is the next chapter earlier than I thought I'd get it posted.**

**No, this isn't the end so please don't kill me for this and feel free to grab a tissue.**

Chapter 18

_"Steve! Steve, stay with me. You're gonna be all right, just hang on." Danny frantically pressed on the wounds with both hands while trying to keep the commander awake. "Steve, c'mon. Open your eyes."_

_"Danny," he could hear Chin calling his name. Even felt Kono place a hand on his shoulder as a form of comfort. But he felt miles away from them._

_"C'mon, let the paramedics finish up."_

_"No, I-"_

_"Danny. He's gone."_

Danny Williams stared blankly out the window, the tie around his neck feeling more like a noose with each passing second. The black suit he wore was uncomfortable and he would give anything to not have to wear it right now.

Three days had gone by since Hawkes got away. Three days passed by since Steve died. Chin and Kono both put on brave faces through it all but Danny couldn't bring himself to accept the fact that the Super SEAL was never going back.

Maybe that's why he kept telling everyone he wasn't going to the funeral. Because if he went, then that would mean he had accepted it when he knew he hadn't. Honestly he wasn't even sure why he put the stupid suit on anyway.

"Danny, you ready?" Kono knocked softly on Danny's office door before entering. She could see that the detectives shoulders were low and wished she could do something to lift his spirits up. "The car is out front waiting." she was met with silence.

"I can't, Kono." Williams said finally. He didn't turn away from the window and his voice held a sorrow within it.

"Bruh, you're not the only one hurting right now. We all lost someone we care about." Kono walked over to Danny and placed her hands on his shoulders turning him towards her. "But we're going to get through this. Together. Because we're Ohana."

_Down one member._ Danny thought to himself as Kono pulled him into a comforting embrace. He took a deep breath and followed Kono through headquarters where Chin was waiting for them at the main entrance. They walked towards the black limo and held their heads as high as they broken hearts could allow.

Time seemed to slow down as the limo headed for their destination. Since Steve was still with the Navy, they took his body and did all of the preparations for the funeral much to the gladness of the remaining members of Five-0. With no family in town to take claim, Danny and Chin and Kono agreed to take care of anything else.

The only thing they didn't like, but couldn't argue with, was the fact that they never got to actually say goodbye. A straight answer wasn't given as to why they weren't allowed to see his body and they were too tired to argue about it more than a few seconds.

"I guess it's now or never," Chin said as the limo slowed to a stop next to the cemetery.

"I chose never," Kono whispered as she took Chin's offered hand to help her out of the car.

Danny remained silent as he followed, thinking about how Taylor had wanted to come. When he told her about Steve, she took the news hard, as he expected, even though she didn't really know the SEAL. She cried herself to sleep and Danny stayed there for a while longer after that, keeping watch over her like an overprotective father. During the time he was waiting to hear from Duke about her ex-boyfriend and the charges he'd be facing before realizing that it might take awhile to compile as the days passed without a word.

Before they realized it, Danny and Chin and Kono were seated on the front row as the minister began speaking. An American flag draped coffin stood tall in front of the assembled mourners with flowers abundant and a portrait of Steve in uniform.

Danny was given his cue to come up to the podium to speak of behalf of Five-0 but as he was making his way to the front something caught his attention. He stopped when he saw one of the guards standing in the back leave his post and slowly make his way a few meters away from where the funeral was being held. Detective Williams ignored the minister who was pressing him to come forward but Danny couldn't take his eyes off what was happening.

Chin and Kono followed Danny's glance just as the guard reached a large tree and aimed his weapon, calling out to a figure who stayed in the shadows. Danny gasped when it all began to make sense. "Get these people out of here!" he called out, hoping that who ever was in charge heard him.

"Danny, what's going on?"

"Chin come with me, Kono help get these people to safety!" Danny ignored the question and drew his weapon that he had tucked in his pants. Chin followed, wondering what this was all about.

As they got closer to the where the guard was they could barely make out the two voices speaking just before a single shot rang out.

"Weapon down, Sailor!" Chin said as he came up on the man who had yet to lower his weapon. "Weapon down-"

"Chin," Danny was crouching down beside the dark figure, a black ball cap in hand, as he looked at the fading life of Ron Hawkes.

"I'll call the paramedics."

"Don't bother." said Danny as he stood to his feet since he knew right there that it wouldn't be long before Hawkes died. He stepped closer to the guard with a blank look on his face and said, "Steve?"

At the sound of his name, the guard carefully removed his uniform hat and looked at his partner and friend. "Danny, I-"

"Chin! Danny!" Kono said as she came over and gasped at the sight of the commander. "…Steve?"

Danny Williams backed away, unsure of how he should feel about Steve's return, and let a pair of paramedics take Steve over to waiting ambulance. He turned around from the scene and began walking towards the street in hopes of catching a taxi willing to take him to the nearest bar.

* * *

They said she was lucky to be alive, but she didn't feel like it.

Taylor laid in her hospital room alone with her back to the door while watching the Hawaiian sea through a closed window. Her doctors had told her that she could easily be in the hospital for two to four weeks as her weakened body fought off the infections which meant that she wasn't able to go to Steve's funeral, even though she tried to fight them on that.

When Detective Williams, Danny she remember he told her to call him, said that the Commander didn't make it she broke down into tears. She didn't know why she felt like she had let him down, but the weight of failing the man she hardly knew was heavy and she didn't know how to take it.

She remembered Danny telling her that she shouldn't think that his death was in any way her fault and Chin and Kono echoed that as well. They told her that she was brave and strong for doing as much as she did throughout the entire ordeal and for that Steve McGarrett would be proud.

When she heard the door to her room open she didn't bother to turn around. The nurses had given up trying to comfort her and only came in to change out her medication or to take more blood.

A stray tear ran down her face and she slowly wiped it away with the back of her hand. "For being as strong as you have been I wouldn't have taken you for someone who cried."

Taylor froze at the sound of his voice and figured she was dreaming. But when she turned around she was welcomed with the sight of Steve, standing in front of a wheelchair, looking worse for wear with a flower in hand.

"Steve?"

**FYI: the ending of chapter 17 and most of chapter 18 is what promoted me to write this story in the first place. I've always wonder how a series would go about "killing" off a major character and then show that they only "died" to catch the bad guy. Since I've never seen a show do that I decided to write it.**

**Review please?**


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